Frozen 2: Love Defrosted
by DaNG 95 x
Summary: After the events of Disney's Frozen, Anna and Kristoff couldn't be any happier, their relationship is solid and life is good. but when there appears to be bumps in the road for the whole troop and an unforeseen enemy appears with hidden intentions, will their bond last as it's tested to the limits? AnnaxKristoff Elsa. Note, This will be a clean romance story, absolutely no filth!
1. Perfect Place

**Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to Disney or Frozen, or anything actually...**

**Perfect Place**

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I wake up at sunrise, as I always do. The familiar smell of hay caught me off guard; I'd fallen asleep in the stable again? I get up and brush myself off, only to realize that I was in my new sled that Anna had bought me when we returned. I still can't believe she just bought me a new sled, just like that, and it's one of the newest models! I keep thinking that it must have cost her an arm and leg to buy but then I remember she IS the Princess of Arendelle, she's not exactly poor! It's easy to forget that Anna is a royal; she has such a loving, sincere heart that so many princess's don't, although so does her sister Elsa, the Queen of Arendelle.

I must have cleaned the sled till late last night to fall asleep in it. I take care of this thing so much now that I'm finishing my job as Ice deliverer. It's funny, since Elsa made me Arendelle's official Ice Master and Deliverer (I'm still not so sure that's a thing), work's been getting less and less, to the point where I have to look for other things to occupy my time. Luckily for me, Anna also spends most of her time out and about, away from the palace. I don't think she can get enough of being free after being locked away for so long.

To this day I still get a lump in my throat when I imagine how horrible it must have been for her to spend so long away from the outside world when she's so fun-loving and cheerful and… chatty and beautiful… and just perfect. And she's all mine! To think that I come from a family of trolls and had never really interacted with a human being socially before, other than work. Yet, the whole journey we took just made us get closer and closer. I love her so much. I decide to pop in and visit her before I take my last transit to Shore's Supplies on the other side of the North Mountain, a very long journey. Anna insisted that she join me on the trip so I'd have some company, but I assured her that as "Ice Master" I must make the trip alone, she feels so bad for me going alone!

Of course that's a bit of a lie; I could never tell her the real reason.

* * *

"OLAF! You know I hate it when you do that!"

Olaf had awoken me again from sleep by sprinkling snowflakes over me. It wakes me up slowly but when I am, it's freezing…

"Oh- so wading through deep snow to find your sister is fine yet I put a light coat on you and suddenly it's too cold? Sorry miss heroin!"

His tone of voice sounds almost hurt by my last remark, I instantly regret it.

"Awww sorry Olaf I didn't mean it like that! You just gotta remember that not everyone is so resilient to the cold! You and the 'Ice Queen' are exceptions."

"Okay…" he sounds like a scolded child, but his tone suddenly changes from dreary to excitement, "So what do you want to do today? We could go build a snowman outside Elsa's room again and scare her; or we could go and have another snowball fight like last week; or we could see what Kristoff and Sven are doing?"

Olaf knows me too well. All these options appeal to me! Snowball fights are the best things ever, especially with Elsa on my team! Her control of snow and ice is such a good weapon to have against our toughest opponents: Kristoff, Olaf and- well anyone they choose! Ever since the gates have been open and we've been allowed to venture out, the fun hasn't stopped! I used to get on really well with our two main servants in the palace (I hate calling them that) Kai and Gerda; they've been my friends for the majority of my life. Of course Elsa is my best friend in the whole world, before my accident we were inseparable! We used to have snowball fights with each other in the main hall, which of course only we four knew about. If Mother or Father found out Elsa was using her powers to freeze over the main hall they'd flip! Kai and Gerda would always join us, even though they'd risk their jobs and respect from our family. It was just too fun! When 'it' happened (we don't bring it up anymore) we were divided and I spent goodness knows how long away from her. And then our parents passed on in a storm that sunk their boat somewhere in the North Sea. They were going to visit our cousin Rapunzel at her wedding, but they never made it. I couldn't even get her to open her bedroom door to me; my last family member in Arendelle had shut me out and I didn't know why. I know now that it was all to protect me, but I still believe that It might not have needed to be that way if we had just bonded again. And then the short time we got to spend together at her Coronation was cut short, because I kept poking and prodding to get answers from her. I shouldn't have done that but I needed to know!

"Anna? Are you okay? If you don't want to we can find something else to do!"

The sound of Olaf's voice brought me back to reality, "Oh no it's not that Olaf, I was just remember how times were so different back when- never mind…" I wipe my eyes on my bed sheets. Me and my waterworks!

"I would love to have a snowball fight Olaf, but I actually need to see Krissy off on his trip today little guy!" this snowman's so full of fun and energy, but I feel so bad for letting him down "how about you go find Elsa and wake her up?" she's probably awake already but as horrible as it sounds, I just want to spend some alone time with my Ice Master before he sets off on his last voyage.

"Okay! Tell Kristoff and Sven I said hi!" he said as he scurried out of my bedroom. It's odd how fast he moves even though his legs (or are they just feet?) are only a pair of snowy lumps.

My mind goes back to Krissy. He won't let me go with him this time and I keep rattling my brain as to why, he said because he's 'Ice Master' he has to go it alone but that's never been a problem before! I feel privileged to say that I have absolutely no worries of another woman somewhere, Kristoff is fiercely loyal to me and I to him, he is my true love after all, my REAL true love, but this does make me even more confused about why I can't go with him.

But I respect his wishes, and I decide to freshen up before I go to meet him. Unlike most girls I know, I don't take that long to shower, dress and apply my make-up. I never use a lot but Elsa says it brings out my natural beauty, but I'll never have anything on her! After a quick glance in the mirror, I decide I look 'princessy' enough for my Kristoff, I know that he says just being with me is perfect for him but I still like to look my best for him. I think I'll get breakfast a bit later, now I just wanna see my Krissy. Even though Elsa has given him a room in the palace, he rarely uses it, he does own a small shack just outside of Arendelle, but he's put so much work into that little place he just doesn't want to leave it and I don't blame him, it's such a cute little hut!

I realize it's light out. Really light. I've slept in again! Now I'm grateful to Olaf for waking me when he did or I may have missed seeing Kristoff off! I still might! So I quicken my pace and soon I'm out of the palace, heading to the city gates.

I hope he hasn't fallen asleep in that silly Sled again!

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**Hi guys! Thanks for taking time to check out my first novel on FanFiction. My name's Dan and I'm a huge fan of this film and have wanted to write about where I think Anna and Kristoff's relationship could go in the future for a while! Please feel free to give me any sort of feedback, both positive AND negative, it's just things a could improve on!**

**Once again, thanks for reading and I'll start work on the second chapter very soon!**

**-Dan**


	2. A Song of Snow and Ice

**A Song of Snow and Ice**

**Hey all! As promised, another chapter right here for ya, I've decided reading back that I didn't really give you a good description of what the characters look like. I went on the assumption that most of you will have seen the film and know what the dress in and their facial features etc. but that feels like I'm cheating so I'll implement that into this chapter, where we will meet the Snow Queen once again!**

**(quick side-note: make-up isn't my strongest suit so please forgive me if I get it horribly wrong!)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Disney or Frozen, or anything actually…**

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I'm so happy I finally have a grip on these powers. I've been living in isolation from everyone, including Anna, for 13 years and now it's all finally over! It's been a few months since my return from the mountain and Anna helped me fix everything, people have dubbed it 'The Great Thaw'. I'm absolutely ashamed that it even came to that, to just run away from my own home; my own people that I have let down, and think I can just live a perfect life away from everything. Selfish. I was so selfish.

But no! It wasn't all selfish! I did it for my beloved sister! The most important person in my life, and I had to shut her out for her own protection without telling her why. Everyday almost, she'd give my door a gentle tap and ask what I've been up to? Can I come out yet? Do I wanna build a snowman? I just couldn't have replied, it would have made things much harder. It was heart wrenching. I promised I'd never let 'it' happen ever again, at least until my powers were under control, but they never were. Now that we're all together again however, it's triggered something. I've decided that as long as I can control my emotions, I will be able to control my abilities, this gift I have always felt was such a burden could become a talent? A method of play for me and Anna (we loved the snow). Now, it's always possible around Anna. I've just missed her so much that it makes me the happiest girl in the world knowing that she's by my side, and she's in no danger. When I found out about that evil slime Hans' schemes, I almost froze the town (again!) but knowing that Anna is now safe from him, and me, everything is perfect.

I realize that in my little daydream, I have slightly crystallized my sheets with ice, _sorry Gerda!_ I quickly thaw them out. It feels great to be able to do that at will now, but all this thinking and recollection has got my emotions all stirred. I think a relaxing walk in the market will do the trick.

I shower and apply my make-up. I go with my iconic purple eyeliner and light blusher; it compliments my freakishly baby blue eyes. I'm not a fan, but Anna says that they suit me, and she's better at this than me! I quickly glance in the wardrobe. My signature blue ice queen dress is hanging up, I'm glad I didn't thaw that, it's beautiful! But it does look a little too much for just a casual stroll in the marketplace. Even though I'm queen, I still like to dress casually every now and then. Keeping up appearances can be hard sometimes, not to mention exhausting! I decide on a green summer dress, a little like Anna's only mine comes with a cape. It's customary as queen to wear it whenever I'm on my rounds. Oh and the gorgeous crown that Kai had made for me, it's similar to the one that I left at my second home up in the North Mountain, but now Marshmallow, as Olaf calls him, has called dibs on it. Like my old one, this has a blue gemstone in the middle, but I can't decide what it is! It's too dark to be diamond, but it's too light to be Sapphire! I must ask Kai about that the next time I see him, actually he should be in the market collecting supplies for the palace.

I check myself over in the mirror, I choose my purple high heels for posture (apparently it helps but try wearing them for an hour and say that!) and the fact that my cousin sent them over after her wedding as a gift. From feet up I'm wearing a green dress with a purple collar and lapel, with golden buttons. It almost doubles up as a winter coat! Behind that I have my cape that is purple on the outside and red on the inside, which attaches just above my left shoulder with thin rope. My hair is fashioned in the same style I made, kind of accidentally, up in my castle. It can get a little uncomfortable but yet again, Anna insists, saying that my bright white hair really needs to be shown off! Well, she knows best so uncomfortable rope braid it is. Through the manifolds of my hair I slip on the Golden Crown with that weird gemstone inside. I have to admit, I look pretty damn cute in this attire. Thank goodness for Anna!

Just as I head towards the door, it swings open and nearly sends me flying back!

"Hi I'm Olaf and I like wa- Elsa? What are you doing on the floor?" said the bubbly snowman stood in the doorway.

Oww that really hurt! Were it not for my thick floor rug, I would have definitely broken something. "Olaf! You just shocked me is all." I try to get to my feet, but these heels make that harder than it sounds.

"Yeeeeah? That was the idea! I was supposed to scare you silly! But it still doesn't explain why you're on the floor?" he questioned, clueless as ever.

"Never mind little guy" I said, biting my tongue. "How have you been Olaf?"

"Bored bored bored!" he says with an irritated tone "what's a snowman supposed to do for fun around here? Say Elsa!? You wanna build a fortress in the courtyard and have a snowfight?"

My heart skips a beat, I do love our snowfights. We can't really call them snowBALL fights anymore because I tend to just hurl any number of different shapes of snow at them. Again, one of the perks of being the Queen of snow and ice! One of our favorites is Defend the Fortress; Anna, Kristoff and Olaf have 30 minutes to make a small fortress of snow and then I barrage it with my arsenal. Once I even made a battering ram from ice! That was a short game.

"I would LOVE to Olaf-"

"Yesss! I'll go get the others!" he spins and begins to hurry off.

"No, wait Olaf! You didn't let me finish silly! I would love to sweetie but first I must tend to my errands in the town center. What about after?"

"Okay," he responds, slightly saddened. I hate letting him down. "But straight after okay? No backsies!" he exclaims as he holds out his twiggy arm and extends a finger in my direction.

"Wrong finger silly!" I said, quickly pushing back his middle finger and extending his pinkie (could be difficult to explain if people see him making THAT gesture towards their queen!).

"No backsies" I reply, linking my pinkie with his.

"Okay! I'll head down with you! Race ya!" he shouts confidently as he spins round once more and takes off down the hall, gosh he's fast.

I adjust my crown and follow him, leaving my door open. I promised Anna I would never shut it again.

* * *

The lavish smell of freshly baked bread files my nostrils as I head through the market. It's a short walk from my cabin to the palace, but perfectly placed as I can grab breakfast on the way from the Baker. I could never have afforded a cooked breakfast before, but being named Arendelle's Official Ice Master and Deliverer has it's perks! I don't really get how it works but all I know is that it comes with a large sum of money to spend on whatever I like! Elsa told me "it's not infinite but it will never run out." What does that even mean? Bah. I don't care. All I know is that fresh bread and cooked Salmon is better than carrots. Carrots! I must remember to pick them up for Sven today, else he'll give me the silent treatment again (I know I do most of the talking but just accept my logic), and I hate that. I figure I'd buy some chocolate for Anna as I know how much she loves it. She and Elsa have such a sweet tooth! I can't stand the stuff; it's far too rich for me and Sven, never the less I'll order some while I'm here.

"Bonjour Sir Bjorgman, will it be the same breakfast as yesterday? I hope so as I did prepare it early!" said the baker, with that same peculiar accent of his.

"Please just call me Kristoff Ernie, I hate that title." It's true; I really don't like being referred to as sir or even Mr Bjorgman, it makes me feel really snub.

"My apologies Mr Bjo- Kristoff."

"Thanks, and yes please but can I also order a bunch of carrots and a carton of chocolate claires?" sounds like such an odd combo.

Ernie chuckles to himself, it made his long mustache jiggle "I think you mean Éclairs mon ami!"Ernie was a typical baker in appearance, he had a finely groomed moustache that curled at the ends, aparantly very common in some countries, very tall and a little on the large side. I think he likes his own food a little too much!

"Oh, okay those then. Say Ernie, why do you talk like that? I've never heard a tongue like that before." I ask.

"I come from La France! The home of fine dining, cuisine and taste delights!" he said proudly, he even puffed his chest out as he spoke!

"Fine cuisine?" I repeated, "I thought that was the Italians?"

He shot me a look. "Hmph, the Italians cannot compare to Ernie's Éclairs! There is no competition!" he bellowed. He almost sounded insulted by my remark.

"Sorry, my mistake! I'm sure Anna will prefer yours over theirs then!" I replied, trying to cover up that last statement.

"A simple error, no matter!" he said cheerfully as he handed me my food bag, glad I dodged that bullet, which I exchanged with some silver coins.

"Thanks Ernie, no doubt I'll see you tomorrow."

"Take care, Kristoff!" I can tell he had to think twice about it. I'm still so enchanted by the bakery's sweet scents that I almost missed Anna running up to me, and nearly fell to the floor!

"Hi Krissy! Did you get breakfast from Ernie's again? Ha! I told you you wouldn't be able to resist them once you started!" She said in her excited-as-always voice, she is always so thrilled when she sees me, but it's no different for me when she's around.

"Hey Princess! I was just going to surprise you with these!" I said as I whipped out the éclairs, or whatever there called, out from my bag.

She got even more pumped at the sight of them, "Oh Krissy those are my favorite! I forgot to have breakfast this morning again."

"Well lucky I prepared." I plant a kiss on her lips. Those lips that are so soft and perfect it's like they've never been touched before, _thinking about it_ _I doubt they ever have actually…_ I gently cup her cheek as she fondles with my hair, oww man! I forgot to freshen up for her! I hate her having to put up with a smelly Kristoff. But she doesn't seem to mind, this girl loves me too much sometimes…

"You fell asleep in the sled again didn't you Krissy?" She said as we broke away from a long embrace, _knew I should have freshened up!_

"Well, yes. But this time it wasn't my fault! There was a really stubborn mark right on the front. The front! I can't be an Ice Master with a messy sled! What would my customers think?"

"Well, you're the '_ice master_'" she said with a funny voice, which quickly sounded saddened, "When are you leaving?"

Those eyes, I can't ever disappoint those big blue eyes. "Not until later tonight bunny" I decided right then that I didn't have to leave until sundown, the first section of the journey is perfectly safe at night, the odd wolf has never caused too many problems before. It's the section after that that plagues my mind. The long road through Fallcoach Valley, named for an obvious reason. Miles and miles of thin winding roads with sheer drops into cliffs on either side, sometimes both at the same time. I don't doubt that Sven and I can navigate this route easily, but recently that place has become a bit of a haven for bandits, bandits that are… gifted. Sometimes I wonder if their condition is similar to that of Elsa's. This is a journey that I plan to take during daylight, especially with what I intend to bring back.

"Okay great! Because Elsa planned a get together in 20 minutes at the palace dining hall. You, me, her, Kai, Gerda and Olaf! A great little family get together!"

This makes me smile, seeing Anna so happy with an actual family for the first time in over a decade! I know how much this means to her. "Oh wow! Good job I'm not leaving early then! Do I have to dress up for this one?" Given the choice I'd go in my usual wear, my thick fur tunic with a dark blue shirt and thick trousers, finished off with a pair of brown fur boots that curl at the end. I'm actually wearing it right now.

"I actually promised Elsa that I'd get you out of those smelly clothes you always wear!" I feel bad, if I'd known Anna thought that I would have burned them. "C'mon, let's go get you some new threads!"

Threads? _What does that even mean? _"Okay, you seem to know what you're going on about so I trust you. Where are we going?"

"_Guuuring to thrrr castrrle" _she said with a mouthful of chocolate. "Elsa and I picked out an outfit for you last night!" she said finishing her éclair. She's so excited about this, playing dress up in the Palace with her Mountain Worker boyfriend.

"Fine, can I bring Sven?" I have a feeling I already know the answer.

"Krissy… you know animals aren't allowed in the palace, I wish he could but it's the rules" she said, genuinely sounding apologetic.

"Okay… I just hate leaving him out in the stables without me..." before I met Anna, it used to just be me and Sven and we'd go everywhere together! He was my only real friend, apart from my troll family anyway.

"I know sweetie but it'll be just for a little while, a few hours at the most? Anyway you'll have the whole long journey with him won't you?"

"I guess I will yeah" I'd actually forgotten that we'd be on the road for weeks! I will always love spending time with Anna and Elsa but sometimes it can be nice to get away for a while with just me and Sven. It was always made better though when Anna came. She loved getting her hands dirty and would always help out with moving the ice back and forth, though sometimes they were too heavy for her and she'd drop them. I thought it was kind of cute when that happened.

In my thought, I notice a small mark on the edge of my sled. "Can I just finish buffering this scratch out before we go?"

"Of course we can ducky!" she said in a patronizing voice- wait WE? She rolled up her sleeves and grabbed a cloth from my bucket and spat on the area, to the shock of some onlookers as their faces scrunched up.

What did I say about getting her hands dirty?

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**Hey guys! Thanks for sticking around to read this next chapter! I think I've left this one with a few questions here... What is with the bandits out in Fallcoach Valley? What is Kristoff planning to bring back with him? And will Olaf ever be able to play with his friends before he looses his mind?**

**Also, what do you think of the descriptions I'm doing of the characters? Like the French baker Ernie, did I give you enough to paint a good picture of him? And lastly, what do you think of the speed of the story? do you think that I'm going at a good pace?**

**Once again, please write a review or PM me with your opinion (good and bad!) I really appreciate feedback!**

**Sorry there has been a lot of updates for this chapter but I found a few grammatical errors in it that had to be fixed!**

**Speak to you in the next chapter!**

**-Dan**


	3. Trips, Tailors and Tight Shirts

**Trips, Tailors and Tight shirts**

**Hey guys me again!**

**Here's the next installment to Frozen 2: Love Defrosted. I've been getting some good feedback from you guys about this book so far and it's definitely helped! Enjoy!**

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I enjoy walking through Arendelle like this, a free queen feeling comfortable around her own people, and they around her. Seeing all these very different faces greeting me, all happy to see their queen in the flesh this often compared to, well never! A small family walking with their child wave to me, and as I return the gesture I realize I recognize them; the mother is the same lady that I bumped into on that night while I was fleeing from that horrible Duke of Weasleton, I'm so glad he's been dismissed from my beautiful town. Their young son is already walking! I recall him sleeping in his mother's arms when we first met, though I was glad he couldn't conceive me.

I continue my stroll, taking in the sights and sounds of this wonderful place, I can finally explore my home how I'd always wanted to; unrestricted and without fear! I'll never get tired of thi- I see him, that auburn hair is unmistakable, as is his slender build. That MOSTER of a man! How dare he set foot in my kingdom after he tried to kill me and, worst of all, Anna! I bound towards Hans and I'm ready to call my guards to arms when he turns to me and I halt in my tracks. This is not the same man that my attempted murderer was, but a simple man with a respectable posture, and a puzzling look. "Queen Elsa? Are you okay your Majesty?"

"I'm…" _I'm out of breath! _"I'm fine, sorry for startling you…" This isn't right. I'm seeing that slimeball everywhere. I'm being ridiculous! He's gone back to the Southern Isles, where he no doubt will feel the wrath of his brothers once the French Foreign Dignitary delivers him to them. He can't hurt me anymore. He can't hurt Anna anymore! _Get him out of your head!_

It doesn't help I haven't been sleeping very well lately, since my absence there has been a lot of work that has needed my attention, 'queeny' stuff that can't be finalized without my say. Even Anna isn't allowed to contribute, and thank the heavens no one let Hans make any drastic decisions, if you don't count ordering my execution, but I'm totally past that. So that takes up the majority of my days, then sleep escapes me at night, where I'm haunted with the memories of everything that has happened. Every time I close my eyes, my mind fills with images of Anna and that strand of platinum-blonde hair that I put there, and tears always follow. I could never tell Anna this though, if she saw me crying over it, she'd be so upset and when she cries I cry. It's a vicious circle. I get a lump in my throat now just thinking about it!

Well cheer up Elsa. Today is my first day off in a long time, and I intend to enjoy it as much as I can! I arranged for the entire main hall to be set for a feast for just us. Our little circle of friends and family, I even ordered Kai and Gerda to join us and stop being servants for the day! I chuckle at how awkward they might feel, but I don't care, Queen's orders! Kristoff will be joining us sporting some flash new clothes as well, courtesy of Anna's love of playing dress up! If there's anyone that can get him out of those clothes, it's her (oh behave…).

Upon this thought, I actually realize that I've been walking for quite a while and I'm near the harbor, I've completely skipped past the marketplace and I'm staring out to the ocean. Why did I come here again? Oh yes, I was trying to track down Kai and ask about the crown. He's most likely finished his rounds by now and he'll be back at the castle. I should really check in on Anna and Kristoff and see if Anna has worked her magic.

As I head back to the Palace, It dawns on me how nervous I am for tonight. At long last I can have a social gathering with my newly found family, but what do we do? Do we just eat and talk? Do we talk first or while we eat? Where are we all supposed to sit? I've never done this before, I never got the chance at my Coronation! I think it would make sense for Anna and Kristoff to sit together now that they are officially a couple, and Kai and Gerda will want to sit together, I guess that leaves me and Olaf, but he won't actually eat anything, he is a snowman. So I guess I'll just sit and make awkward conversation with two couples and someone that won't eat anything, at least I think Kai and Gerda are together? It makes sense. Sounds fun I guess.

That's a point: Kristoff and my sister are now well and truly in love with each other yet I barely know anything about him, other than how he'd helped Anna to get to my Ice Castle up in the North Mountain and that he sells Ice for a living. Other than that, I know nothing!

I decide that will be my goal for the afternoon, to learn more about my sister's lover's (and possibly my future brother in law's?) background. I recall Anna telling me once that he was raised by a family of trolls? That could be an interesting dinner conversation- _Wait a minute!_ Could it be that he was raised by the very same trolls that my father confided in all those years ago for advice on my powers? As far as I'm aware there is only one major troll family that live nearby, so it could well be them!

The distinctive smell of Ernie's baking brings me back to my surroundings. It appears that I have made it back to the market, my mind wanders a lot! I decide to give in to temptation and grab breakfast at his, he is the best baker in Arendelle!

He notices me immediately and straightens his stance "Queen Elsa!" he says while lowering himself into a bow "A pleasure as always votre Majesté! How may I be of service?"

I almost blush at his submission "Hello Ernie, how have things been this morning?"

"Trés bien merci!" he eagerly replies, straightening up again, "The people of Arendelle always keep me busy, and when I'm busy business is good eh?"

"That's good to hear! May I trouble you for some breakfast muffins?" I just saw him take some out of the stove and they're looking piping hot and fresh! I've had my eye on them since I approached the stand…

"Of course your Majesty! Pas un probléme!" as he immediately begins preparing my satchel. "It would appear that I have been graced with both the queen's and the princess's presence this fine morning!"

"Oh really? Anna was here?"

"Oui, she was! She almost tackled that mountain of a petit ami she has. I was raised in the country or romance, yet I have never seen a mademoiselle so amoureux!"

"Armouroo?" I query, I am usually very familiar with the French language, but this word seems new to me. He chuckles at my lack of understanding, making his long, thin moustache wobble.

"Haha no votre Majesté, _Amoureux! _In love! She's completely infatuated with him!

That I can't deny, Anna may have thought she was in love with Hans, but this is the real thing. When I see those two together, it reminds me of the stories Mother used to tell me of when she and Father where young. I like to think that, with everything that has happened, Anna has learned the difference between love and lust. I may not know much about him, but she loves that man. That's good enough for me, and I trust him with my cherished sister, he didn't have to protect her on her long journey!

"You're right there Ernie, it does make me happy to finally see her with someone she cares about other than me." I like that fact that, even though I'm queen, I can instill so much of my thoughts to others; I do try and make myself an approachable royal.

"She deserves it á mon avis, after what that l'homme du mal did to her" I appreciate his opinion, Hans has become somewhat of a symbol of hatred after his schemes against Anna; leaving her to die and pinning the blame on me to have me executed! Everyone knows the story now.

"Mark my words votre Majesté, if I had known his intentions I would have snapped the petit merde myself right there!" his tone became more and more furious as he made a crushing gesture with his hands. The profanity caught me off guard; no one ever curses in front of the queen, let alone directly TO her! But I understand, and I am grateful for his promise.

"Thank you Ernie, but you might have to talk to Kristoff about that. If the opportunity ever presented itself, I promised him he could have first shot at Hans." That is a sight I would love to see. Even though I am strongly against any form of unnecessary violence, I do catch myself fantasizing about Kristoff's retaliation to that little worm every now and then. Why couldn't Anna let him at Hans on the boat that day?

"Oh! Well in that case I needn't get my hands dirty, I believe his vendetta is stronger than mien!" he says, finding assurance in that fact. "Anyway, don't allow me to keep you any longer my queen!" he said as he hands me my breakfast.

"Oh no please, it's great to chat! But on this one occasion I do have business to attend to so I must go, always great talking to you Ernie!" I said as I placed a few silver coins on his counter top. He declined at first but I ordered him to take it. As Queen I technically own all of Arendelle, including all its resources and goods, but I would never expect people to just provide for me without any kind of repayment.

"If you insist, votre Majesté. I wish a great day to you!" he said, bowing once again.

As I begin to leave, I quickly turn and call back, "Ernie! Do you know where Anna and Kristoff went?"

He looked taken aback at my abruptness "Err I believe I overheard them make plans to go to the Tailors votre Majesté!" he bellowed back.

"Okay great! Thanks!" Thank goodness! That means Anna has finally managed to convince him to grab some new clothes! I think I'll meet them there.

Now all she needs to do is let him know that Sven actually isn't allowed in the palace... I wonder; she may well have done already! I should start giving her a little more credit!

* * *

I've never seen Kristoff so uncomfortable before...

We've been in the Tailors for almost half an hour and I've tried him with so many different shirts that I didn't even know existed. They are all too small for him! There are so many shirts on display here as well, a cute little cabin made of varnished wood and stone floors, fairly premium! His Height isn't the problem though, even though he is fairly tall. It's his width! I'm not saying my Krissy is fat, no! It's the opposite! His muscular build is proving a challenge for the main tailor, Philippe.

"oh dear, no, it is no good. This will not do either!" he exclaimed, starting to show his apparent irritation. I can't say I blame him, he's running out of ideas! "The chest and arms simply will not fit in any of my shirts!"

"So what you're saying is I'm too BIG to fit in?" he says, pumping his arm in exhibition of his bulk. It would have been funny, had the shirt he was currently trying on not ripped straight down the left arm and across the chest… No I lie, the mixed look of innocence and delight on his face was hysterical! But Philippe did not look amused by this.

"Do NOT laugh at my expense of your pathetic 'Peacock' display!" Kristoff and I immediately stop giggling. I'm the Princess of Arendelle, yet I feel so insignificant in the presence of someone so passionate about fashion. "Please excuse me." He mumbles as he slipped out of the room. I feel terrible, and I can see that Krissy's amusement, and patience, is starting to wear thin.

"Ah it's no good Anna, we'll just have to tell Elsa that we tried but there's nothing here" he said as he ripped off the rest of the shirt from him in frustration. I can't help but blush, his stature is amazing, a very toned set of abs on his belly, broad shoulders and strange 'wing' muscles that stretch halfway up his neck, and a back that looks like the landscape of the North Mountains. He is seriously cute!

I gather my thoughts again, "Well let's just wait until Philippe returns, he may have something for you out back okay?" I said sympathetically, intertwining my arm with his and resting my head on his chest. It makes me so happy to know that I can be like this around someone without worrying whether or not they will try to kill me.

"Okay…" he yielded, as he places his other arm on my shoulder, I am very good at the power of persuasion!

"-Oh Kristoff, put some clothes on will you?" a light voice said from behind us. I'd recognize my sister's voice anywhere, but it catches Krissy unaware.

"Oh, ah… Sorry your majesty" he quickly said, as he amusingly tried covering his chest with the ragged remains of a shirt.

She giggles a little, "You know you really don't have to be so formal around me, we're practically family now!" I gleam and her open acceptance of my handsome man.

"Oh, okay… Elsa." He stutters, like a schoolchild that has just been scolded, he is so adorable!

She then notices all of the shirts that have been thrown aside around us, "Um, so how goes the shirt hunt?"

"-ah, there's nothing that we feel would be suitable!" Krissy interrupts me before I can tell her the real reason why, although by her glance at the torn fabric in his hands, I think she already knows, as she raises one eyebrow. I smile and wink at her.

"Right I've had one more blasted idea-" calls out Philippe from behind the curtain "but if this doesn't work then so help me I'll-" he emerges from the drapes and instantly freezes and straightens up "Queen Elsa! Forgive me for making you wait, how may I be of use to you your Majesty?" Rude! he completely disregarded us! But I do love it when Elsa makes people eat their words…

"I'm fine thank you Philippe, but I would appreciate a little improved service towards my sister and her escort to my palace" she said in a matter-of-factly way.

"Your palace! Oh goodness! Why didn't you say so Princess Anna!" I purse my lips at his sudden change of attitude to want to help, "I've had a thought, if you'd like to wear this jumper and pants for now Sir, and leave your clothes with me. I'll see what magic I can weave!"

"Absolutely" Kristoff said, gratefully putting on the new attire. The Jumper stretched to accommodate him fine and he clearly approved of its design; a thick green sweater with a V-neck, an image of a snowy mountain on the front (how appropriate) and a pair of denim, I think it's called, jeans that matched very well. "When shall we come back?"

"Oh don't worry yourself about that Sir! I'll have them delivered to you when they are complete!" Philippe explained, Elsa nods her head as much as to say _that's better!_

"But wait, isn't everyone meeting in like, 5 minutes?" said Kristoff, slightly alarmed.

"It's OUR palace Kristoff," said Elsa, it doesn't matter when we get there" she winked, as we said goodbye to Philippe and left the shop.

* * *

Where is everyone? Elsa said she'd come and play after her errands, but that was almost half an hour ago! Arendelle's not that big! She should have made me a friend to play with as well, otherwise the rest of my life I'll spend wandering around bored out of my mind! I should go and meet some new people! I love meeting new faces! I look around the courtyard, but everyone here seems noble or are servants, none will want to play, although I can see Kai return with a big basket of food and supplies.

"Hey Kai over here!" I shout at him as he walks through the gates.

"Oh hello there little guy! How are you this morning Olaf?" he asks, continuing his route, in a real posh, well-spoken tone.

"Bored… No one wants to play this morning! They're all out doing important stuff! I want important stuff to do too!" I say as I begin to walk with him and we head down to the kitchens.

"Aww you poor thing, you wanna come help me in the kitchen?"

"I would, but last time I want in there everyone was cooking the main courses and Gerda had to scoop me up from the floor, this flurry isn't the best thing when it comes to eight lit stoves apparently!" that wasn't my best day.

Kai seems to be stifling a laugh, though I imagine it looked pretty funny, "Well there'll be no ovens or fires while we prepare today, we'll be making lunch for the Queen and her associates, I believe we've both been invited also!"

What! Lunch with all my friends! That's gonna be amazing! "Oh. My. Gosh! I'm so excited!" I do a little dance of cheer as Kai opens the door to the pantry and begins to unload his supplies in different arrangements over the cupboard. "Is Gerda coming?"

"I believe so, we've both been relieved of duty for the day but I, as a servant to the royal family, wouldn't want to be served by my own colleagues, it would seem a tad rude, so I'll do most of the preparations as usual." I don't know what colleagues means, but I assume it means he's gonna work anyway.

I grab a cleaver and begin to swing it like a warrior. "Aha! So who be our opponents in this fine duel matey?" I say in my best pirate accent.

"The ruthless and evil cucumbers and carrots me hearty!" said Kai, clearly as excited as me, as he holds a carrot to his eye like a spyglass. "Just try not to hurt yourself Olaf!" he says in a more serious tone.

"I won't!" I say as I stand in a ripose stance, "but the carrots are mine!"

"Okay snowbeard, here, chop these for me would you?" Kai says as he drops some of my targets on a chopping board and begins to chop the cucumber with pinpoint accuracy and supreme speed. I cant help but look in awe!

It takes me a while but I'm getting the hang of it! I develop my own pace and am making good progress, although for every carrot I chop, Kai's done four cucumbers, which is even more impressive considering they're twice as large as my carrots!"Haha! Look at me! I'm flying through it!" I say proudly, dancing around a little as I chop away! "All done!" I declare as I throw the cleaver in the air in victory and catch it again! I then group my chopped victims again so that Kai can easily count them up!

"Okay calm down now master chef!" He says as he inspects my work."Nicely done- wait Olaf, where's your nose?"

"My nose?" I question as I feel around my face for my absent carrot that usually sits... right here? Nope not there!

"Hang on, I gave you six carrots to chop didn't I?"

"Ummmm... I think so yeah?"

"Okay lets do a quick stock count" Kai says quite urgently as he taps each carrot one at a time as he counts, "One, two, three, four, five, six, se- oh dear..."

* * *

**Oh Olaf...**

**Well, thanks for sticking around for this next chapter, I had a lot of fun writing this one! I have a few college assignments to do over the week so it may be a few days before Chapter Four is up and ready, but rest assured it is coming!**

**Before I go just a quick not to say I can't believe how popular this story is becoming! 160+ views already, and only 5 of them are people I've practically forced to read it! That's crazy! It means so much to me that there are actually people who enjoy this, and it makes it so much more worth while!**

**What do you think of the length of these chapters now? I'm going to try and keep the content itself to around 2,500 -3,500 words, I think that's a good length?**

**Don't forget to follow and favorite me and the story to get regular updates!**

**See you next time,**

**-Dan**

**P.S. Shoutout to my bud Jordan, became a Dad last week. Proud of you bro! - **


	4. My Hidden Power

**My Hidden Power**

**300+ views! This is incredible! Never when I started did I think this book would become this popular! Every single one of you that has contributed to that number, I can't thank you enough, and the story can only grow from here!**

**Let's get back to Arendelle and our friend's nice dinner together…**

* * *

This palace is ridiculously huge! I mean I've been in here before a few years ago on work agendas but that was only really to the gates, I never actually entered the palace for a meal! I'm actually pretty nervous for this dinner; I spend a lot of time with Elsa as it is now that me and Anna are finally together, but every now and then it kind of hits me that she IS the Queen of Arendelle. As comfortable as I am around her I do need to make an impression today, on her and the palace servants. That's a thought, how do I use the servants? I've never so much as had a single item of food made for me by anyone else, yet here I'll be having meal after meal prepared for me! What do I do if I need the bathroom, or if I don't like that food? Actually that's unlikely, everything is bound to be delicious.

I can however, take comfort in the fact that the tailor me and Anna went to see has done wonders with my outfit! He has apparently taken inspiration off of my clothes that I left with him; he has crafted a charcoal grey jacket out of fine linin with red trimmings and lapels, and a soft pair of grey pants, that are still made of the same linin on the outside, but they have a really nice, soft inlay so that they are comfortable to wear. I always keep my hair in a kind of thick, wavy… well mess, as Anna calls it, but Philippe recommended I put this strange waxy product in before the meal, and it's sort of locked my hair in its best state of waviness! He's really pulled out all the stops for this one; I must remember to thank him for this later. I wonder if he'd appreciate any free blocks of ice.

I'm in Elsa's study right now; even her study is as gorgeous as the palace! From what Anna has said she spent thirteen years of her life in this very room, doing goodness knows what; maybe she was working on how to control her powers? The first think I noticed was the enormous stained glass window in the centre of the back wall, shrouded with beautiful red and blue drapes. I can't help but think how much better it would have looked with ice instead of glass. I've also never seen so many books before! We had a few back at the Valley of the Living Rock, Pappie used to read some to me growing up, but nothing like these ones. They're very thick, with so many words in them and no pictures! What kind of book has no pictures?! What possible use can one person have with all these? I must admit that Elsa is remarkably intelligent; I think she can speak in a completely different language! Maybe it is because of her reading all these books in her solitude for all that time. Speaking of Elsa, she and Anna said they'd come and collect me when they're ready to go down, and even though Kai has been relieved of his servant duties, he stayed with me to help prepare.

"I think it looks marvelous! The royal family have always relied on Mr Philippe to supply the finest clothes from across the country!"

"You're not wrong there Kai, this is unlike anything I've ever worn!" I reply. I've been getting to know Kai quite a lot since we've been getting my suit ready, turns out he comes from an entire family of servants, but serving Elsa, he said, has been the greatest job he or anyone in his family has done. But I can't help but wonder one thing:

"So Kai, what's the deal with you and Gerda?"

"Deal sir?"

"Yeah! Deal!"

"I don't follow." He said, but he must know what I mean.

"Are you and her an item?"

"No, unfortunately servant law prevents such relationships between colleagues in the palace."

"Unfortunately? Ha! So you have thought about it?"

"Me and Gerda?"

"Yes, we are talking about you two aren't we?" he's really avoiding the question now!

"Ah I see what you're implying; but no we are purely friends, very good friends I may add."

I feel a little saddened at this unveiling, "Aww that sucks, I really thought you and her were a couple!" I said, truthfully.

"You wouldn't be the first!" he said as he adjusted my lapels and gave my hair a quick pat to test the integral strength of the wax, and my hair sprang back to its frozen, wavy self. "Wow, Philippe can sure pick out a good hair medium!"

I have no idea what he's talking about, _seems to be a regular occurrence now, _so I just nod and say "Mmm" in agreement.

I hear a noise behind me and the girls swoop in in their normal gracious way. Elsa is wearing a dress not too dissimilar from her signature blue ice dress she created up in her mountain castle, I think to myself, _how has that thing still not melt- _but my thoughts are immediately interrupted by Anna.

Anna seamlessly floated into the room after her sister and her baby blue eyes meet mine, I am instantly locked in her gaze, she is wearing a Green Summer dress, like the one she was wearing when we first met at Wandering Oaken's Trading Post (and it had a sauna!) but this one had pleats from her waist, contouring down to just below her knees, giving a dazzling display of green on the outside layer, and yellow waving from the inside. It came up to a V style cutaway, bordered with a light brown pattern with yellow buttons every now and then. In a strange way it reminds me of summer in itself. This border stops just above her chest, displaying very little of her bosom, still more than she'd be comfortable wearing before I knew her. Her luscious, rich strawberry Blonde hair is tied in a bun with a piece of green cloth, delicately tied so that it drapes down to her upper back. I've never seen her in this light before; she's always been so timid and shy with her clothes and her movements, eccentric as they were, always felt quite hesitant if that makes sense. Not any more though, now she's more alive and loud with her emotions, I'm pretty sure I saw Kai's jaw drop as well. She literally radiates with beauty; she's the exact definition of what the perfect girl would look like to me. She is perfect.

And she's in love with me?

* * *

_**10 minutes before…**_

"Ooooooh I'm so excited! You realise this will be the first time we've ever had a dinner date together!"

"Really Anna? I thought you two dated last week at the diner near the harbour?"

"Not me and Kristoff silly, us, our family, You and me, Kai &amp; Gerda too!"

I know I'm right; Elsa and I hadn't done anything together since our confinement, which was hard considering we were inseparable from each other when we were younger. But that was a long time ago, and there's only so much time sisters can spend apart; I think 13 years is long enough!

"You're right!" _I know… _"Our first real dinner date! But Anna, as much as I wanna chat with my _beloved _sis, I wanna hear more about my beloved sis's new squeeze!" she teased. It's true though, she has greatly accepted Kristoff into our, very unique, little family but she really doesn't know much about him at all!

"I am really happy that you were so welcoming to him Elsa, I thought at first you'd be hesitant as I did meet my true love whilst engaged to Hans…"

"I was at first if I'm honest, but I quickly realized what it was he was doing for you when I was up in the castle, but believe me, any doubts I had went out the window when he tried to wallop that little worm on the boat!"

"Yeah that was really admirable of him; no one would DARE assault a prince!" these words made me realize exactly how bad it could have been for Krissy. "Oh gosh I'm glad I got in the way of him…" I said, my mind still there on the boat with us.

"Why?! Why'd you have to stop him?" she pleaded, "Be realistic, look at the size of Kristoff compared to Hans!"

"He is pretty big isn't he…" I dreamily side tracked, "But I was thinking how it could have turned out for him, you know legally! He could have been in a whole lot of trouble!"

"How? He just wanted to beat the man responsible for plotting to kill the Queen and Princess of Arendelle to a pulp! I was in the position of authority as queen, and I was fine with it, trust me!"

Darn it she's right, no bad could have come of letting my Krissy having a bit of a 'play' with Hans, argh I shouldn't have restrained him!

"Ah well, it's done now" Elsa noted, "Now enough about him, lets figure out what to do with you tonight" she quizzed as she looked me up and down, like she was scanning my entire body for problems she could fix.

"Isn't what I've got on now okay?" I asked. I was just going to wear a cute red gown with a picture of the sun knitted into the back and over my left shoulder. Pretty casual attire I would wear around the palace when I was lounging about.

"Oh yeah, this is your first date so you won't have a clue will you?" she teased with a wink.

"Oh so suddenly you're a love expert? Gosh you sound just like Kristoff before he took me the see his trolls because of th-" I stop myself there, I don't wanna go back to that thought, but I can tell Elsa was finishing my sentence in her head. "Sorry…"

"Don't apologize" she said with a bite, "Nothing that happened was your fault, there's no need for any apology."

"Got it" I said, now desperate to change the subject, I go back to my outfit "so what did you have in mind?" I said, waving my arms to display her canvas.

"I know!" she said after much thought as she took off into my wardrobe, it's a walk in by the way! I start to get a bit nervous, she's definitely planning something.

After a few long seconds she finally returns with a dress I didn't actually recognize, "Where did you get this from?" I query as I examine the green folded dress she is holding.

"I sent word to Philippe that I needed a seriously cute dress for you to wear on a date with Kristoff, and this is what he sent back!" she said with a lot of excitement, "what do you think?!"

It's absolutely gorgeous is what I think! But it seems a little too revealing for my liking, "It's really nice Elsa, but don't you think it's a little, you know, short?" I say, pointing out the short leg length and instinctively folding my arms I front of my chest at the sight of the very wide and low V-neck.

"Oh Anna come on! You're not a little girl anymore! You are a grown woman and a princess, and you have a grown man out there that you need to impress!"

"Impress? I thought Krissy liked me anyway?" I reply, now I'm really nervous, how do I impress someone?

"Of course he does, anyone can tell that! He's absolutely obsessed with you! But you need to flaunt a little, in case you haven't noticed you're a little on the super-cute size!" she commented, referring to my chest. REAL NERVOUS now, and feeling slightly awkward… Is this usually what sister's talk about, boys and each other's chest girth? I know we've been apart for so long but it really doesn't seem right.

"Elsa, I don't know if I'm comfortable with this" I admit as I take a seat on my bed. "It's just not me, I wouldn't feel right in that" all this revelation was starting to get to me now. I even consider calling the whole thing off I'm that nervous.

She drapes the dress on my bed, sits next to me places one arm around my shoulders, "Sorry if it's a bit much, I'm just trying to help. Kristoff already finds you absolutely adorable; you're perfect in his eyes and mine, I just think you should have a little fun this evening with your outfit?"

Maybe she's right, I'm definitely not 7 years old anymore; I'm nearly 19! I need to be more confident with my body, I'm pretty sure Kristoff would appreciate it! "Okay, you're right!" I finally disclose "Let's try it on".

"Yaaaay!" Elsa's face lights up "I know you'll love it when it's on you!

It takes about 5 minutes to actually get the thing on me. "So, what do you think?" Elsa asks ecstatically as she rushes me over to the mirror, where my jaw drops. I have such a slender figure anyway, but this is so tight around my waist. It stops at the end of my shoulder, right where my arm begins, and follows a V shape and meets just halfway up my chest. I don't like it. It is way too revealing, but I promised Elsa I'd try it on. The skirt section of it folds over itself as it drapes down my front, creating a flurry of yellow and green colour as I walk, ending just below my knees. That's okay; I'll be sitting down most of the time anyway. Elsa is putting my hair in a bun using a green piece of fabric that is too long. I can tell as it does drape down to my shoulder blades, but it does add a sense of creativity to an already 'loud' dress. I decide to kid myself; other than how revealing it is, I really do like it.

"It's, it's really cute" I eventually manage to get it out. "I just don't know about, all this!" I say, making an oval shape with my finger around my now very exposed torso.

"Anna, I promise you it will be fine" she reassures, "Kristoff won't be able to keep his eyes off of you! Listen to your big sis!" she begs. I can tell she is desperate to have me wear this, and I think of all the effort Philippe must have done getting it ready at such short notice.

"Okay, I do like it" I admit, only slightly kidding myself. "It's gorgeous!"

"Good! Only the best for my beautiful sister!" she says, giving my cheek a playful squeeze. "Now let's go surprise Kristoff!"

* * *

Mission accomplished! He can't look away from her! He's completely bewitched by mine and Philippe's creation; he didn't do too badly on Kristoff's attire either it's worth pointing out. I bet he feels so silly wearing fine clothes like this, but there's no way I was gonna let him wear his normal, grubby outfit, goodness knows when they were last washed! But it's paid off, and they both look absolutely gorgeous. I subtly wink at Kai, who returns mine with one of his. We've been planning this for a while now him and I; getting Anna all dolled up, and Kristoff looking sharp. It was Kristoff that broke the silence first.

"Anna… you look… amazing…" I give a little weep of triumph, and my sister goes ruby red.

"Thank you…" she giggled in her usual, sweet and innocent way, "You look… amazing too…" Both of their jaws still hung open as they remained locked in each other's stare, this couldn't have gone any better!

I'm doing this because every now and then I remember that she had lost a great deal of her life because of me. Being locked up in a castle for thirteen years she never got to experience having a crush on anyone, or being able to slip out of the palace late at night just to be with the one she loved. It's these thoughts that remind me how much I have really ruined her life in my own selfish way; what I thought I was doing to protect her was actually crushing her from the inside, and it makes me sick to the stomach to think that I let it happen.

"Are you okay your majesty?" said Kai interrupting my train of thought, apparently I had begun crying. It also snapped Anna and Kristoff out of their trance.

"Yeah… yeah I am, sorry! Let's head down shall we?" I say, covering my emotions from everyone, I decide that the tears were because I am so happy and proud to see how far my baby sister has come, from being a bored little girl roaming around the palace (I'm pretty sure I heard her talk to a painting of Joan of Arc once), to this beautiful, fully grown woman that I have suppressed for so long up until my coronation day. And now we're on a date with the man of her dreams, and our best friends.

We're a strange little family, but perfect none the less.

* * *

The main hall looks amazing. Alongside its usual wooden floors, green wallpaper, and green tinted wooden pillars, it has been complimented by a small area (though still pretty big) that Kai had sectioned off for us, consisting of curtains to cut out the rest of the outside world from us while we dine. There is a small round table in the centre of this area, decorated using green dinner mats, fine silver cutlery and crystal glasses, one for each of us, even the snowman... Apparently, he hadn't followed my order about NOT working for tonight as he has clearly still played a big part in all this. I think the smaller table was a good choice; I wanted tonight to be a more intimate affair for Anna and Kristoff. It couldn't possibly have worked with them sitting a shout away from each other! I'm sitting closest to the wall, with Olaf to my left, and Anna to my right. Following the table around, sitting next to Anna is Kristoff, and from him Kai &amp; Gerda, another reason I chose a small table was so there wouldn't be enough room for Kristoff to bring in that smelly reindeer of his!

"You realise this would be the first time we have dined in the palace as guests!" starts Gerda, referring to her and Kai.

"Really? You never eat with the royals?" Kristoff queried, his and Anna's finger's intertwined in an embrace.

"Oh no," said Kai, shocked at Kristoff's lack of knowledge of the royal servant's way of life "as servants to the royal family we are tasked with preparation of the meals, ensuring that all upholstery is cleaned and linin is fresh, as well as daily maintenance of the palace."

I can tell that a few words in Kai's remark stumbled Kristoff so I try and summarize, "They look after us very well!" I said with an appreciative smile "It's another reason I invited you guys, to give you a break!"

"Aww you don't work us that hard that we need breaks sweetie!" said Gerda.

"And let's not forget you guys have been our best friends for our whole lives growing up!" Anna jumped in; she does have a point there!

"Well we did have quite a substantial amount of fun didn't we, _children_!_" _he said in that accent! Oh my gosh, It's been years since he's used that voice! Anna and I burst out laughing, and just got weird looks from Olaf and Kristoff. Some explanation might not go amiss here!

"Basically, when we were young, Elsa and I would come to this very room late at night and, she'd turn it into a winter wonderland! We'd go Ice skating, have snowball fights and just mess around in the snowfall! One day this old head servant heard us and she'd shout out "Children!" all the time and we'd run away, leaving the hall frozen over!" I had to stop to take a breath; Anna and I are in hysterics over this!

"So wait- were you guys here when that would happen?" asked Kristoff.

"Oh we'd join in with the girls! Of course we'd have to clean up the aftermath but it was always worth it, but this one always cheated!" Gerda chuckled, referring to me; I'd always create enormous boulders in a matter of seconds to hurl at the other team using my abilities, I did have a slight advantage there.

"Oh I can imagine that! Did you make snowmen like me?" asked Olaf, with a really excited tone.

"Actually, I made you a few times Olaf, but only up in the mountains did I have enough power to sustain you." It's strange talking about him like this.

"Wait- so you made loads of little me's? Do I have snowbrothers and snowsisters?!"

"No, sorry Olaf, but you do have us!" Anna said, in such a sweet voice it could cheer anyone up, and it clearly worked.

"Daww I love you guys!" he said, wrapping his twiggy arm around me and Kai.

"We love you too Olaf!" Kristoff said, reaching over and giving his head a scratch, making little flakes of frost float onto the table. I decide now is the best time to ask.

"So Kristoff, Anna tells me you were raised by a surrogate family?" I questioned, being careful in choosing my words.

"Yeah that's true, from a young age I was mining ice with the ice pack, but they were all fully grown men and me and Sven were just babies compared to them. But it was actually you that led me to them Elsa!"

I give a quick look of confusion, "I did? When did I do that?" I am very confused now.

"Yeah, one time I was walking with Sven and we saw the King and Queen hurry past with you and Anna was curled up in their arms. I followed with Sven and watched Pappie do something to Anna's head and one of the trolls just, took me in there and then! I know it doesn't balance out what happened with you sweetie," he said as he cupped Anna's cheek, "but if it wasn't for you guys, I wouldn't have a family! I probably wouldn't have an ice business and-" he changes his gaze to meet my sister's, "I would never have met you Anna. I love you!"

"I love you too Krissy!" Anna replies as she nuzzles his arm with her face. These two are just so adorable. She eventually rests her head on his shoulder, and in return he rests his head on hers. This got an "Awww" from our guests. Such a romantic gesture is rare to find in this palace, and I wasn't about to let anything interrupt-

"So when's the food ready?" said an impatient Olaf. _Does he even eat anything?_

At that moment the servants slipped in through the curtains with our food and a large jug of wine.

* * *

This has been one of the best nights of my life. Dinner my family, our family. It has consisted of general chit chat between Kristoff and me, and Olaf trying to understand that yes, he is alive but no, he doesn't need to eat. The main topic on everyone's lips is listening to the stories of the Ice Master. Everyone wants to hear about my true love's life and background; Elsa has been especially keen on finding out a bit more about him. I love the fact that she is showing such an interest in him! The food was absolutely gorgeous, and I'm sure the company made it taste better. The night before Kristoff leaves on his journey couldn't have gone any better.

"Phew! I'm stuffed!" Kristoff said.

"Same…" I replied.

"I couldn't muster another bite!" said Kai, with Gerda shaking her head in agreement.

"You guys are such lightweights!" Said Anna, I'm not surprised. She was always a big eater and the last one to finish any meal, not because she was a slow eater by any means, but she always had so much food on her plate.

"How on earth can you stomach all of that Princess?" Kristoff says, in amazement at Anna's capacity for dinner.

"It's MY hidden power!" she said in a kind of 'obviously' tone while glancing at me!

"Anna has been like that since she was a wee child!" Said Gerda, rubbing her full tummy. "Never an ounce of food was wasted for dinner was it?" she turned to Kai.

"Well… if there were any leftovers from Anna, I might nibble on them after." He admitted to the shock of Gerda, I knew this already and found her reaction quite funny, as did Anna and Kristoff.

"You ate them?"

"I did… sorry." Kai said, looking at his empty plate, hiding a giggle.

"Well I used to eat all the leftovers from Elsa!" This I didn't know, and just fueled the humour that was circulating the table.

"You did! That's why her plate was always empty…"

"You went to my plate after Anna's?" I asked between laughs.

"Well there was always so little on Anna's I'd sometimes see what you had to offer… Now I know why it was futile!" he said to Gerda.

"Okay let's just admit we're both piggish and move on?" Gerda asked, I wished we didn't have to, this is brilliant and Kristoff definitely approves seeing as his head is in his hands laughing!

"I think you would have benefitted from me in the kitchens more than these two, I don't eat anything…" Olaf whispered to me, but not quietly enough as Kristoff is literally in tears laughing!

"Olaf! Be careful of other's feelings!" Anna said. It would have been more convincing if she too wasn't in hysterics.

"No he's definitely right there would have been more food left!" Gerda said as Kai nods in agreement.

It takes a while for everyone to calm down now, I've been giggling solid now for at least 10 minutes and my childish sister and her equally as childish boyfriend are both drying their eyes. Tonight has been wonderful, I've reconnected with my sister, shared a few great past times with my friends and, above all for me, learned about Kristoff and his past; he is perfect for my sister.

"Tonight has been amazing" said Anna, like she read my mind.

"It has been fantastic hasn't it?" replies Kai, with nods of agreement from Gerda and Olaf.

"It has. Thank you so much for inviting me Elsa, this has meant so much to me. You guys have all made my life so much better ever since I met you in that weird man's shop up in the mountains and I'm so happy to be a part of this family"

"Aww Kristoff you'll always be welcome in this palace, you know that" smiled Gerda.

"Speaking of which, you know you do have a room here Kristoff? Are you ever going to move in?" I ask.

"Actually I am." He revealed, to which Anna gleamed with happiness!

"You are!" she cried out!

"Yes! Once I get back from Shore's Supplies, that's it!" He paused and gathers his words, "I'm hanging up the woolly hat and resigning my ice business over to Arendelle." This shocked both me and Anna at his revelation.

"You're leaving your job? Like, for real? You spoke about it before but I didn't think you were serious!" Anna is shocked, this is obviously news to her. "But, ice is your life! It means so much to you!" Anna recited, sounds like something he has mentioned before.

"No Anna, YOU are my life now, YOU mean so much more to me than my ice business, and all it's doing is getting in the way of us, so when Elsa offered me a place completely rent-free in the palace, I decided that I wouldn't take any more order requests from any companies. Shore's Supplies will be my last transit, and then someone else will have to step in and shift all the ice about won't they?" at some point during his big speech, Anna had scooted closer to him and the both were holding each other's elbows in their hands in embrace, and her eyes were filled with tears of joy, this was great news!

"Oh Kristoff!... I love you so much!"

"I love you too Princess" He replies as they contract into a hug filled with so much love for each other. I start tearing up now, Kristoff cares about my baby sister so much. I'm so glad he isn't the sort to take advantage of her.

It was then I notice Kai looking for my gaze and we wink at each other,

Mission accomplished.

* * *

It's very dark out now, I didn't realize how long we'd been inside but time flies when you're having fun I guess! We'd gotten changed and left straight from the palace and are walking down through the marketplace towards the gates. Anna and I are ahead linked by the arm; her head is resting on my shoulder, with the others walking behind us. I enjoy walks like this with Anna. Although we have taken it countless times before, just spending time with her is perfect, even if we don't talk it's still perfect but tonight, my trip is the hot topic on Anna's lips.

"So how long will you be gone again?"

"I'm not sure, but it shouldn't be any longer than a week or so" I honestly don't have a clue how long I'll be, but I can't imagine staying out for longer than that for any reason. "Believe me; I'll be back as soon as I can!" I say, but I can see she's not too pleased at this. Usually my trips take around a day two, but Shore's Supplies is literally on the other side of the north mountain, and further.

"It's gonna be dark though! Are you sure you shouldn't wait till tomorrow morning when it'll be brighter?"

Bless her, she's worried already, "Honey it's much safer to leave at this time anyway, and it's faster because they'll be no one hogging the paths, so me and Sven won't get stuck waiting behind them" we're always one of the fastest on the count of him being a reindeer, and if I leave at this light level, it'll be bright by the time we reach Fallcoach Valley. That's a trip I want to make during the daytime.

"Are you sure you still don't want a royal guard escort?" Elsa asks, with Anna eagerly awaiting my reply.

"No, but thank you Elsa. With all due respect, Sven would just have to keep slowing down for the horses anyway, so it'd be quicker without them."

"What if someone tries to mug you?" Anna starts.

"No one is going to try and mug me."

"What if someone DOES though?"

"Then I'll punch them!"

"What if they have a weapon? What if there are a lot of them? What if they-"

I grab her around her waist and kiss her lips, those soft, ruby red lips, lips that need to stop worrying about me! As we break off from our warm embrace, her still in my arms, I say in a hushed tone "You have my word Anna that no one will try and stop me, nothing bad is going to happen, and I'll be back before the week is out, deal?"

"Deal, and you'd better stick to it! she said, playfully slapping my chest.

"I promise" I realize this is the last time I will see her for a while so I was about to pull her into another embrace when she pulled me into one of her own. As we kissed again, her hands reach over my shoulders and around my neck, playing with my hair again, _she loves doing that! _I am holding her in the mid region of her back with one hand and cradling her head with the other.

"Okay kids come on, let's try and get Kristoff on the road before sunrise!" said Elsa, continuing on her path around us.

"He.. Sorry…" Anna started, breaking off.

"Yeah sorry about that" I apologize, scratching the back of my head.

We continue to head to the gates and stop at the stables, where a very excited Sven is waiting for me. At the sight of me, she jumps up and gallops towards me, almost sending me flying back!

"Whoa easy boy, it's okay I missed you too!" I said giving his head a scratch.

"So," Elsa began, "Looks like it's gonna be the last time you use this guy!" she said pointing at my sled. Because of the route I'll be taking, Elsa had it outfitted with cushioned seats, a small but very soft sleeping bag and, above all else, wheels that I can attach to the runners! Only half this journey will be in snow and ice, the rest on mountain roads and stone paths, so it's crucial that I can traverse that sort of terrain.

"I guess so, but I'm definitely keeping her! Is there any where she could stay in the courtyard?" I ponder.

"You could keep it in the private stables around back!" _it? She has feelings you know!_

"That would be perfect actually!" I said, very grateful.

I connect the sled with Sven and do my checks. Cargo secured? Check. Harness Fastened? Check. Bog roll? Subtly check… I guess that's it, I turn to the others to say farewell, and Anna throws herself into my arms again.

"I'm gonna miss you so much Krissy!"

"I'm gonna miss you too princess" I reply as I nuzzle her head. Her hair smells so good! Like strawberries I think? Boy I'm gonna miss that smell.

We let go of each other and I hope on the sled. "Thank you so much for a great evening again guys, I'll never forget it!"

"You're very welcome Kristoff, and the pleasure was all ours!" Elsa responded.

"We'll see you when you return young Kristoff!" Said Kai as he and Gerda waved at me.

"I'll look forward to it!" I lower myself to Anna who is right next to my sled "And once I'm back, you'll help me move out of that shed I've been living in?"

"Yes yes yes! And just for the record, I think you're hut is so adorable!"

"Just like you" I wink at her and peck her on the cheek one last time.

She retreats back to the others and they all wave goodbye. I return the gesture and grab the reins. "Let's go Sven!" I call out as he gives a huff and snort, and pulls away at sharp speed!

After a while I look back at my new home of Arendelle as it gets smaller and smaller. At night the lights of the streets and palace make it look almost as beautiful as the princess inside that will be waiting for my return.

But until then, looks like it's just me and Sven on the road for one last time.

* * *

**And there you have it! Finally Chapter four has rolled our, sorry it took so long but as I said I have assignments to complete as well. Hopefully making this chapter longer than usual has balanced that out!**

**Also, WHAT? 340+ views on this story so far? That's unbelievable! I can't believe there are 340+ people that want to read this!**

**Also a quick question: What do you guys think about Kai and Gerda? We see very VERY little of them in the movie but I researched their characters and decided that this was the closest I could get to them!**

**Right. It's time to wait for Chapter 5, where we will leave Arendelle completely and say hi to a new foe, and his unlikely accomplice, for a grand scheme...**

**See you there...**

**-Dan**


	5. To Intercept a Prince

**To Intercept a Prince**

**Hey all!**

**It's becoming a regular thing now, but still I am shocked at how popular this novel is becoming! I never intended this!**

**Now, as promised, lets take a trip away from Arendelle, where a plot thickens...**

* * *

_**A few days before…**_

These infernal waves are proving very difficult to navigate using such a small boat, but any bigger and we'd be easily spotted. To my left I see one of my bandits, Razor, hurling his last supper overboard, and to my right, watchful as ever is my trusted assassin, Shade. Small in comparison, but of excellent muscular build, enabling him to confidently take on the largest of opponents and brush them aside with ease. I had a competition held to decide who was the most combat-able of all my bandits, with the addition of him; a human, but I was secretly scouting for an assassin to accompany me on this journey. He won by a considerably large margin, defeating my defending champion by parrying and dodging his way around him, then using his agility to land lots of powerful, quick blows to the torso that stopped his heart, to which he simply folded his felled opponent's arms over their chest and closed their eyes, muttering something respectful under his breath. The fight was over in under a minute, and then he just stood well composed, his stamina unaffected and awaited my judgement. The reason I have hired him over all others is down to his unfathomable discipline to me; he is fiercely loyal and without emotion during combat, making him the deadliest kind of soldier; perfect for my cause. I trust him with my life.

"How goes our progress Shade?" I ask.

He stands to attention and faces me, "we are making good time my lord, but I fear we are moving too slow against this storm. We may miss our window of interception." He summarised with a bow.

"Hmmm… That will not do." I ponder to myself. "How would you recommend we remedy this?"

"I'd suggest losing any unnecessary weight to this ship. I'd recommend allowing myself to leave and return to the island my lord."

"That's out of the question, we are miles off shore and though I have no doubt you'd make it, you are vital to the success of this journey. But I do agree with our weight problem…" I look around the ship for options, and my eyes find Delph, one of the poorest excuses of a bandit there is. He's overweight, lacks combative skill and is consuming all our supplies as we speak! Shade follows my gaze and instantly understands my intentions. We both step towards our subject as he notices us and freezes in terror. My eyes glow blue as a cloud of frost develops and shrouds my hands.

"My lord? My lord! No, please!" he begs, but his efforts are futile, my mind is made.

"You have been faithful to me Delph, but you will halt our progress through no fault of your own. I will make it quick."

I twitch my hands and a small bolt of blue lightning shoots out from my right hand and charges into Delph, instantly freezing him into a statue of ice. Now Shade lunges forward and delivers a blow so powerful it smashes our old friend into several pieces, causing a shockwave to erupt from the point of contact, stirring up the ocean even more.

"Clean it up, and throw it over board" I command and instantly my small team of cumbersome bandits begin sweeping small bits of Delph over the edge and to the depths of the sea, some tripping over into others and starting small brawls as they do so.

I turn away and shake my head in disappointment, "These fools are so cumbersome. Why on earth did you suggest we bring them Shade?"

"You alone are an extremely powerful force my lord, but we require numbers if we are to accomplish our goal" he has wisdom in his words, and he's never let me down before so I know he shan't now.

"By your guidance" I acknowledge.

"SHIP TO THE BOW MY LORD" One of my bandits calls out, pointing to the left of the ship.

"That's the port side you fool-" but I stop there.

He is right, through the fog I can just about make out a ship flying the French colours.

"That's it, line us up!" I call out as I hurry to the Bow of the ship and shoot another bolt at our makeshift ram, freezing it solid, hard as steel. I return to the quarterdeck and begin to focus my thoughts.

_Feel the heat in my veins,_

_Feel it embrace me, as I it,_

_My emotion is fire._

As I open my eyes my hands become encased in heatless fire and my eye colour adapts to a fiery red/orange tint, as it always does when I tap in to another element.

"Ready my lord?" calls out Shade.

"Ready!" I confirm.

"Ready crew?" he turns to the deck.

"YAAAAA!" they call out. What they lack in discipline and skill they more than make up for in passion.

Another minute passes as we creep up to the French vessel, a typical Frigate with green trims to it, and that prominent French flag flying amast.

"Identify!" Shade commands.

"The Jeanne d'Arc! She's the one!"

_Excellent _I think to myself "Brace!" I call out. "Remember, the crew is expendable, but the prisoner must be taken alive!"

The crew all grab a hold of different parts of the ship; the cleaner seems to think that just holding on to the mop is going to suffice…

"That won't do Froyd!" Shade calls out clutching the rigging, but it's too late.

I release all my energy into two beams of fire erupting from the stern and a group of bandits start to freeze a long path in the ocean ahead. Instantly we build up an enormous amount of speed and mount the ice as we speed towards the Vessel, as Froyd slams into my Captains Quarters door, winding himself.

* * *

I don't think I've ever felt so lousy in all my life. I hate ships and sailing in general, which is odd for a prince. The bucket in my cell is proving insufficient at providing enough 'storage' for my barf, but no one will listen to my pleas asking for it to be emptied. No wonder, this is what I deserve for my schemes. I will no doubt be found guilty of High Treason, and sentenced to death upon my return to my _loving _brothers. It wasn't entirely my fault though! If they hadn't been so neglecting of me, maybe things would have turned out differently! I could have had my royal duties in the palace in the Southern Isles and lived a life of peace, met a nice girl, settled down! But no! I was pushed to this plan of overthrowing Arendelle and taking the throne for myself! Again, not my fault!

Oh who am I kidding? This is all my fault. I'm a murderer. Well, more of an attempted murderer, _you can't even do that right could you! _Couldn't even kill off a Princess that was doomed to die by her sisters' hand anyway! I should have just married Anna, maybe we could have been happy together? She was completely infatuated by me, maybe I could have loved her? She was very beautiful and trusting, caring, loving, everything I could have wanted in a woman.

Blah! It's too late for that now. I am captured awaiting punishment from my older brothers, but surely this treatment is harsh enough? I've been in this small cell for days now, being fed on just slurry or whatever this stuff is. I've been completely stripped of all my honour and stature, and been reduced to a prisoner on a French ship. Nothing could be worse for me here-

SMASH!

I'm thrown into my cell door with a huge amount of force. Gosh that hurt! I lift myself up, only to be met with a searing pain in my back, that's definitely going to bruise! What happened? Have we collided with something? "What was that?" I call out clutching my cell bars, but no one responds, they are all rushing around the deck in panic! I then notice a grapple hook thrown up and lodge itself into the ship's barricade, followed by another, and another?! Pirates, in the North Sea? That's unheard of! Just then a group of small goblin-like creatures clamber over the side of the ship and engage the French crew! The crew are far more skilled against these opponents, but there's so many of them, they don't stop coming! We're being overrun! I can feel the ship tilt to the stern and slightly to the portside. I have enough experience under my belt to know that that is a sure sign that we are taking on water.

Panic insets. I'm locked in a cage! If this ship goes down I'll drown! I start shaking the cage door in fury, but it's securely locked. "Please let me out, I can help!"

One of the crew hears my plea and seems to think twice about his decision. Thankfully he comes to his senses and rushes over to me with keys, "Try anything, and you're dead, understand?" I Nod as he fiddles with the large batch of keys he is holding. _Why is it always a huge batch? How can one ship have so many keys?! _Just as I think this, he flinches and collapses to the floor in a heap, a crossbow bolt, protrudes from his back. I reach out to try and grab the dropped keys, and thank gosh they drift towards me- _DRIFT?!_ We're taking on water that fast it's already seeping onto the deck. After a long time playing with the keys I get to the last one… It doesn't fit!

No… not like this… I can't die like this! Just as I say this in my head, there is a burst of light as the water over the deck freezes over and the ship halts in its place! _Ice _I think to myself. Elsa? It can't be! Just then a bolt of ice strikes my door, instantly freezing it solid. Then one of the pirates, though he is more human than the rest approaches my cell and kicks it with such force it throws me back and makes my ears pop! _Argh my back! _I think, clutching my spine. I then meet my rescuers gaze. "Thank you sir, I thought I was a gonner-" WAM! He slaps me around the face, making me spin on the spot. I then feel him grab me and lock me in a choke hold!

_Ack! I can't breathe! _I feel his knee slam into the back of mine, forcing me to kneel. I now focus on the person that is standing in front of us as he begins to speak.

"Hello Hans. I believe you have knowledge I greatly desire."

"I…. wha…"

I try to get the words out, but I can't, as a knapsack is thrown over my head.

And everything goes black.

* * *

Ahhhhh… my head hurts so much… And I'm cold, very cold. Am I sat on ice? I can't tell but, from what I CAN tell the knapsack is still on my head obscuring my vision, and my hands are bound behind my back. I'm very scared now. I try and loosen my wrists from these binds, but it seems they only get tighter and tighter the harder I try. My knees have gone numb, have I been out for all this time? I try and stand up, but I instantly feel a firm grip on my shoulder pushing me back down to the floor, making my head pound. I feel so weak and helpless here. "This is NOT how a prince should be treated! I demand that you remove this bag on my head immediately!"

This didn't work, and I hear much laughter at my pitiful attempt to assert dominance. I give up now, I just want to see where I am. "Can you please just remove this bag so that I can at least thank my rescuer?" This seems to work as I hear silence and footsteps start to approach me.

"Now that wasn't hard was it?" said a voice, muffled as I hear it through the sack "Let our guest thank us for saving him" After a swoosh and a burst of dazzling light that makes me squint, I can finally start to take in all my surroundings. I'm in some form of Ice Cave. The floors are made of ice, the walls are styled like a palace, but they too are made of ice, though this is not as flawless as the ice that Elsa has made her castle out of; this is rough around the edges, with cracks and scrapes everywhere, could it be manmade?. My rescuer, and now my capturer, is standing behind me. He's so small! How did I let this little man best me? But there is something about him that I recognise, I just can't place him. In front of me is a different story however, towering over me is someone who instantly makes me think of royalty, possible even a King. He is wearing a strong purple jacket with a strange marking on it, complimented by black trousers and boots with such quality I've seen the kings guard wear worse. He also is wearing a gold ring with a large gemstone in the middle that seems to pulse different colours ranging from blue to red, then to purple, white and back to blue. He has striking purple eyes and hair that is jet black, but seems to radiate with a purple glow?! _What is this guy? _He doesn't stand like a King though, his shoulders are far back, his hands clenched into fists and his arms bend out at the elbows. He is very stocky, he sort of reminds me of one of my brothers back home.

"Sorry about the rough intro Hans, but from what Shade has told me you can be… very unpredictable at your best." He says in a very calm tone.

"How do you know my name?"

He gives a slight chuckle, "Wow, Shade did a very good job in tailing you, nicely done Shade!"

"Thank you my lord"

What is he talking about? "Tailing me?" this Shade character was now untying my binds.

"Wow you really don't recognise him do you? He was with you the whole time! Up at the North Mountain when you went to search for your… true love! Ha!" he said in a mocking tone.

Ah! Now I remember. He was part of the Arendelle guard that accompanied me to Elsa's ice castle. Wow he really did do a good job. "But why did you send him to tail me?" it still doesn't make sense.

"Actually I didn't. Shade's mission was to gather Intel on the population of Arendelle for me. Well it turned out that he was so impressed by your progress you had made towards killing the queen and princess that he figured he had enough for me to decide to bring you in."

"Bring me in on what?" I said as I bring myself to my feet, I must admit the air in here is a lot fresher than the air that was trapped with me in my cell. "I don't even know how much use I could be to you"

"Oh believe me, I know you won't disappoint, come, we shall discuss this more in my chambers.

I follow this peculiar man out of the small room we were in, gently rubbing my wrists now that they were free from the most uncomfortable rope in the world! As we head out, I find myself walking through a balcony that looks like it has been cut into the side of a mountain. I look out to the horizon over the Balcony wall; these mountains aren't like the ones around Arendelle though. No, these are very different. The carved-out balcony however is beautiful, the sun is glistening off of the floor and pillars that fracture the light into dancing patterns of gold. These pillars of wood and ice are holding against what I can only imagine is an enormous force from the sheer weight of the terrain we are currently concealed under. Every now and then on our walk we encounter some sort of gremlin, goblin-like creature. Not like the ones on the ship, these ones seem more orderly and well fashioned. It actually reminds me of an army the way they react as this 'king' walks by; straightening up their backs to attention, turning to face us. This is all I ever wanted; to be respected by my own people, although these don't seem very much like people.

We pass what seems like hundreds of wooden doors as we pass through the balcony, though now it's more of a hallway as the exposed area to the outside world is now left behind. I think we are heading deeper into the mountain now; yes it is definitely getting colder in here. I start to shiver, though my capturers don't seem remotely concerned about the cold. Alright for Lord Purple over there, he's wearing a thick jacket and shirt, but Shade is only wearing a vest, thick as it may be, leaving his arms exposed, although I genuinely think all his bulk is keeping him warm because he doesn't even appear the slightest bit chilled; these people have been here a long time. We finally arrive at a set of open double doors bordered with what looks like solid steel? Or iron? Some form of strong, expensive metal. As we head in Shade halts and turns his back to us. "You're not coming?" _Why do I feel like I can connect with this guy, he did choke me out earlier!_

"No my Prince, as personal assassin and bodyguard to his lordship, I must stand in as sentry to his accommodation whilst he is alone."

"Oh okay…" I continue in but stop briefly, "Hey, I know you were just following orders anyway, but thanks for busting me out, you saved my butt back there." I said sincerely.

"Thank you for your appreciation my prince" he now turns to face me, "I hope our work together will be enough to satisfy your reimbursement".

I nod and walk in, that last sentence has shaken me a little. Work together? What is going on here?

As Shade locks the doors behind us, I instantly feel a sense of warmth flow into me. This room feels more like a warn log cabin that a simple study, the walls are made up of stacks of parallel logs, crossing over each other in the four corners of the room, that are every now and then cut away to hold hundreds of books ranging from Geographical atlases to books on biology and military history, this room reeks of intelligence. Of course there is a raging log fire in the centre of the side wall and a very comfortable looking set of lounging chairs in the middle of the room around a small table with a set of used mugs in the middle.

"Please have a seat" he says, whisking up the cups in his grasp and gesturing towards the left side seat, closest to the fire. I gratefully accept and slump down into the chair. I was wrong; it's MORE comfy than it looks… I look over at my host who is preparing two mugs of what smells like hot cocoa-_ he's heating it with fire from his hands!? _He is just warming the mugs in his hands? With fire! From his hands! What the heck is this guy? Could it be that he is in control of fire in the same way Elsa is in control of ice? He then finishes up and heads over to my direction and puts one of the mugs in front of me.

"Careful, it's hot." He calmly warns me as he takes a seat opposite me. He had taken the purple jacket off to reveal a gleaming white shirt with golden buttons and a thin stripe with colours of red, grey, purple and blue. Now I can see his stature and I was right, he is built more like a fighter than a king or prince or- whatever he is. I think I heard Shade refer to him as a Lord?

"Right, now that we're alone, allow me to again apologize for the brutality of your rescue", _Hmph, so now it's a rescue? _"I couldn't risk any of the crew believing you had been involved in a planned break out"

"Ah. Well I doubt they could spread word too quickly marooned in the middle of the North Sea now could they?" I joke, and he seems to find it humorous. _Phew!_

"Ha-ha! A very good point indeed, though I did thaw the ice before we left."

"Oh, so they could sail back and tell word that they were boarded and I was killed? Wow that's good…" he seems confused though.

"Well it would be difficult for them to even stay afloat with the hole we left in their vessel!" that's when it dawned on me; the ship was going down before he froze it in place, does that mean- "I assure you no word of your escape will spread!"

"So it sunk? I see…" all those people, the French foreign dignitary and the man that was going to release me, all sent to a watery grave. So many innocent people. I know that's rich coming from me but, given the choice, I would have let them live. It sent a shiver down my spine, which he seems to notice.

"That cocoa will be cold if you don't drink it, it'll warm you up!" he says changing the subject. He does have a point, I'm still freezing! I take a sip, and the sweet chocolate taste straight away overwhelms me with a sense or relaxation and pulses out warmth all through my body as it makes its way to my empty stomach.

"Oh boy that's good…" I find myself slurring, not even sure if I meant to say it out loud, but I did.

"Thought that might do the trick!" he began, "Now, I know so much about you but you must want to know all about me eh?"

"It could make for good conversation yes, and forgive me but I do have a few questions about some things" I say as I tap the mug, still under the influence of this smooth, warm drink.

"Ah yes I think I have quite a bit of explaining to do, so allow me to start offering answers to any and all questions you may have!"

I consider this, "Very well, may I start with your name?" I ponder.

"Seems only fitting doesn't it?" he agrees, "I am Lord Cyril of the High Islands, first of my name, Controller of the Elements, Commander of the Gremlin Empire &amp; Captain of the Iceblade Vessel"

"Wow, that's quite a title!" I breakdown each section in my head, "So these must be the famously secluded High Islands I've heard so much about?"

"They are indeed," he pulls out a map from below the table and opens it, spreading it across the table, it's a map I recognise after studying it for so long myself. It's one of Arendelle and its neighbouring settlements. "We are right here" he says, pointing at a set of unlabelled islands about halfway between Arendelle and the coast of the Sothern Isles, where twelve older brothers will still be eagerly awaiting my arrival.

"Why isn't the High Islands on any maps?" I ask.

"It's a long story, but explorers never pass through this route because of how dangerous people say it is."

"Well they do have a point" I say raising my mug.

"They do indeed" replies Cyril, raising his in mutual admiration.

I take one more sip before asking my next question, "So am I right in assuming that you have some kind of control over fire?"

"At first I did, but I sought further knowledge and expanded my abilities to ice, wind and I'm starting on water in its natural form, though it's proving a challenge" I must admit this is very impressive.

"Wow, I thought Elsa was respectable with her control!"

"This is something we both agree on, Elsa's control over Ice and Snow far exceeds my skill in these elements, it's incomparable."

"I see. I believe that brings me on to my next question: What is it you think I can help you with?" I believe I already know the answer.

"A good question indeed, you see as controller of the elements, I possess control over the power of power itself."

"Okay now I'm confused" Darn it, I was doing so well so far!

"I can manipulate the anatomy of the source of power in people that possess it, I can absorb it, learn from it, improve my existing understanding of my abilities, even use it against my foes."

I think I get it now. "Okay, I believe I understand now: You took me from that ship because you think my knowledge of Elsa and her sister will get you in position to execute some kind of plan of yours?"

"You're right on the money!" he applauds, "I knew Shade had found a winner!"

I take another sip of my drink and organise all this new information; so I have been rescued by Cyril because he believes I know how to get to Elsa so he can somehow 'absorb' her power to use as his own? That sounds about right.

"So, what do you say about turning your back on Arendelle and your life back in the Southern Isles and join forces with me? In return," he nods towards the map, "When I take command of Arendelle, you will take my place as its ruler, so that I may continue expanding my empire here in the High Islands. I will give you the position in the kingdom you always wanted. You will be King of Arendelle, and ruler of its people and its lands, respected by its people as the saviour of the city once Elsa and her sister mysteriously disappear. Now I appreciate this may be a lot to take in, so allow me to get you a refill while you gather your thoughts" he says as he rises and collects my empty mug and heads over to his kitchen, little does he know my mind is already made.

It's not a hard decision to be fair; the Southern Isles, where my brothers are currently waiting to brutally punish me for my failed schemes; Arendelle, where I will most likely be executed on sight for high treason; or here in the High Islands, where I can aid a powerful ruler into taking control of a kingdom, after which he will hand over to me? Hmmm… What a difficult choice!

"So," Cyril begins as he returns with another mug of that delicious cocoa, "What say you Prince Hans?"

I decide to be honest, "I think you know the answer here, you already know of my antics back in Arendelle, so you'll most likely know what awaits me when I return to the Southern Isles. And to be honest, I've been here for around half an hour, yet you have treated me so much better than my brothers have in over a decade and a half, that's including knocking me out and smuggling me into your home!" I see a grin begin to curve onto his face, "I would be honoured to help you on your task."

"Excellent!" he cries out, throwing his hands in the air in triumph, "then I will not hesitate to share with you my plan of attack!" he says as he swipes the map onto the floor and reveals a newer version, this one had red trails and circled areas that I didn't recognise from the other map, a sign of a real tactician. "I believe with my army stationed at these points here" his finger finds a circled area, "and here" moving to another on the other side of Arendelle, "we can provide enough pressure so that the queen will gather her forces and go on the defensive."

"Forgive me, but that does sound like you're making it more difficult?" I admit, to which he chuckles.

"Indeed it does, which is exactly what I want her to think. On an assault on the city, the queen will retreat to the depths of her palace with those she holds dear. If however, it is a feeble attempt on the city, this will not be the case as she will want to stand up and defends with little risk to her sister"

"Okay, so you want to almost 'stage' a weak attack to expose the queen?" that is genius…

"Exactly, and that is where I will nab her." He explained. "Now this is where I would like your insight Hans."

I think about this strategy a little, "This is a good plan my Lord, but you must remember that Arendelle's walls are next to impenetrable when she is alerted. There's no way you'll get to the queen like that unless you yourself aided the assault"

"Agreed, but if I revealed myself the threat level would be raised. The city would go on lockdown and the Queen would withdraw to the castle. We'd lose our window of opportunity. So I ask you Hans: What is the best way to our beloved Queen?"

"Through her sister Anna," I know this without question, "but she holds her sister dear to her, she's just as invincible as Elsa herself."

"Agreed, yet again. This I understand, but we must get to Anna in order to have a bargaining chip against the Queen"

"Agreed. Anna is Elsa's only weakness but I reiterate, she's just as hard to get to as Elsa, and she never leaves the city, so how do you propose we get to Anna?"

Cyril simply smiles as he points to a section of the map I am unfamiliar with.

Fallcoach Valley.

* * *

**Update: 01/11/2014- Sorry, forgot the Title!**

* * *

**Well well well! Looks like Kristoff could be in a spot of bother!**

**I'm really looking forward to what you guys think of Lord Cyril, he is a character I have had in mind for a ****long time, I was just waiting for an excuse to introduce him. I feel like he'll fit in quite well!**

**Also, shout-out to Shawn Raven, he is the reason I knuckled down and threw this chapter out for you guys! Thank him!**

**And while I'm here, someone asked me if I based any of the characters evolved personalities on anyone I know. I haven't until this chapter actually! I am very passionate about the personalities of the characters; I like to display every emotion and feelings in them, especially kristanna! So I had a lot of fun extending them to how I feel they could be. But in this chapter, I have based Shade on a friend of mine, Tom, so thanks for that bud!**

**So if it's okay, could I hear what you guys think about:**

**-Lord Cyril and Shade's introductions**

**-How Anna reacted to Elsa's rather direct approach to her revealing attire (that scene took a long time to get right!)**

**Until the sixth, stay safe, and I hope you all had a good Halloween!**

**All the best,**

**-Dan**


	6. The Ice Master

**The Ice Master**

I seriously think I'll have to make a stop at this rate. The ice I am transporting to Shore's Supplies is in surplus amount; if Anna hadn't bought me this new sled there's no way I'd have fit it all in! We've been riding for a day now, snowy tree after snowy tree passes in huge groups either side of us, but where we are, we should have passed this morning! Now it's evening, and there's no way I can push Sven any harder, the poor guy's exhausted enough as it is.

"It's okay bud" I say giving his hindquarters a pat, "We'll stop at the next inn overnight and we'll leave again at dawn?"

"_That sounds good Kristoff! Will there be carrots there?" _He said. Well I said it but, you know…

"I'm sure there will be carrots! I'll run in and get some when we stop buddy."

"_Okay!_" That's another reason I love Anna as much as I do; she isn't freaked out by the conversations that me and Sven have. It has always been like that to be fair. As it was always only me and Sven before, well before I met Anna, I'd always talk to myself because there was just me. But I kind of feel that this guy listens to me and, whenever I talk FOR him, he always seems to make the right expressions for it! He can hear me, I know he can. Anna actually finds it funny when I answer for Sven, and she even has conversations with him, pretty detailed conversations as well! Sometimes I wonder if she ever thinks _this IS a reindeer I'm talking to! _but it never seems to bother her.

I appear to be giving this a lot of thought as it's Sven that gives a grunt to get my attention, and nods towards a fairly large cabin; I would have ridden straight past it! It does have a comfy looking stable that Sven likes the look of.

"I don't know bud… let me take a look," I say as I manoeuvre the sled to near the stables and hop off, "I'll take a look."

Sven slumps to the floor like a dog and waits patiently as I approach the front door. There's a sign above the door:_ Wandering Oaken's Bed and Breakfast._

It can't be him, Oaken and I didn't exactly part as friends when he literally threw me out of his front door, I can't believe Anna saw that... Just as I turn away I notice a signpost across the road: _Fallcoach Valley – 2. _Then underneath it another arm that read: _Shore's Supply Depot – 38._ To this day I still don't know what measurement that is, but I think I'm right in assuming that this is the last inn before Fallcoach. It's already dark as it is so I decide to swallow my pride and check in for the night, though Sven doesn't seem to approve of it as he gives me a bit of a dirty look as I guide him into one of the free stable.

"Yeah I'm not happy about it either pal but I made a promise to Anna and I don't want to break it. We have to make that trip during daylight, just in case."

"_You said yourself there'd be no one out there! There never is whenever we've gone through there!"_

"Yeah, and that has always been during the day hasn't it! I'm sorry buddy, but I don't want to take any risks if I don't have to. Cheer up, I'll go look for some carrots." This cheers him up and he tucks into some hay in the corner. I brush the snow off of myself and approach the door, wonder if this one has a spa too?

I give the door a push open, and I'm instantly hit by a wall of embracing warmth, the sounds of chatter, and the smell of pine which I welcome into my nostrils, it's one of my favourites! This inn looks more like a bar of sorts, with chairs and tables across the ground floor, and different groups of people talking to each other. The bar has three people around it, neither talking amongst themselves, so I slot myself onto one of the bar stools and wait to be served. It's not long before the familiar mountain of a person that is Oaken wanders through the door and checks on his guests. When his gaze meets mine he simply waves at me, "Hoo hoo! New customer? Can I get you something? Hot cocoa? Coffee? Tea?" He seems so eager to help as always, it's a little unnerving, though cocoa does sound good right now…

"Hey Oaken, Uh can I get one hot cocoa and some carrots please?"

"Ah! The carrot man, yes? I thought I recognised you from somewhere!" he cheerfully deciphers.

"Yeah that's me, no hard feelings right?"

"None whatsoever friend! Oaken always has to deal with annoying customers I get used to the feelings of sadness, betrayal and general evil! Just the carrots and the cocoa, ja?" Whoa- I wasn't that bad was I?

"Yeah," I say, awkwardly scratching me head. "So what brought you out here? Wasn't the trading post doing well?"

"Quite the opposite actually! Business has never been better up there, people keep wanting to go up and see the queens Ice Castle, tourism is at an all-time high!" Oh dear, I don't think Elsa would like that. "But I want to seek business elsewhere, so I leave post and sauna with family!"

"Wow, that's pretty good! Oh yeah, and a room and a stable for the night?"

"Oh no, no good, see I am fully booked for the night. No rooms until tomorrow!" oh man!

"You're kidding, nothing? Not even a small one?" I'm really desperate now.

"Nope, no can do, sorry carrot man! But I can take name from you, and maybe I have something tomorrow?"

I guess I could stay in the stable, but I'll want a proper nights rest before tomorrow. "Yeah okay, do that."

"Good good!" he says as he grabs a quill and book from under the bar. "Name?" he demands, licking the end of the quill and dipping it in ink.

"Bjorgman. Kristoff Bjorgman."

He makes a note of it, and spells my name wrong… "Okay! You are on the list!" he slumps the book back underneath the bar. So cocoa and carrots ja? Coming right up!" he says as he heads over to the other side of the bar.

I cross my arms in front of me, this place is really busy; there's people everywhere. I don't like it. I don't really like being surrounded by so many people, especially with my back to them.

"First time across Fallcoach valley?" a voice next to me says. I turn to see that it had come from a man much smaller than me; we're both sat down but I can tell he is shorter than me by quite a margin.

"Oh nah, not for me, I've done it so many times now. I have heard stories though so I'd rather take the journey during the daytime."

"I see. Kristoff? Did I hear that right?"

"Yeah, that's me." Wow, he pays attention…

"Shamus Guildar" he extends a hand in greeting.

"Good to meet you Shamus" I say as I take a hold of his hand- _wow he's got a firm grip! Oww! _"What brings you here?"

"Mercenary work usually, private hire" he explained. That doesn't surprise me, now that he has mentioned it he is in incredible shape for a man of his size, I certainly wouldn't wrong him. "Some people travelling across Fallcoach Valley will want escorts so I, and others like me, stay in here for business."

"Wow impressive! I'm an ice deliverer. Actually I'm Arendelle's official Ice Master!" I say I a rather proud tone.

"Really? I didn't know that was a thing?"

"I still don't think it is to be honest," I confess "but the Queen named me it after what happened with the great thaw. I helped out the Princess find her way to her Sister and then back home."

"Ah, you must be the ice deliverer that everyone's going on about then?" he said. Everyone? What does he mean by that?

"What do you mean?"

"The story of the Princess and her true love that saved her from the cold, living the romantic life in the palace together! You've not heard it? It's thrown around here quite a lot."

I didn't know that, but as he says this I notice a few heads keep glancing over to me; a family's children point and giggle at me. _Am I that famous? _"Wow, I didn't know it was that popular!"

Just then, Oaken returns with Sven's carrots and my cocoa, "That will be 7!"

Wow. Even out here he is expensive. I reach into my pocket and pull out 10 pieces by mistake, "Oh, well here are seven, and you can keep the rest for a bit of compensation after what happened back at the north mountain." I lied. I actually find it really hard getting to my pockets when I'm sat down.

"All is forgiven!" he says with a smile and sweeps up the money, but my new friend beckons him closer.

"This man is Arendelle's Official Ice Master, he really would benefit from a good night's sleep before crossing Fallcoach Valley tomorrow. Can't you squeeze him in?" Wow, I have a private mercenary backing my corner!

"Nope, no can do. See I'm fully booked!"

"Just check again" he said in a more serious tone, as he adjusts his seating position and something in his jacket has caught Oaken's eye.

"Oh, certainly!" he replied nervously as he grabs the book and whips it open, "Looks like we have a cancellation! I put your name here!" he said, but I quite clearly see him scribble out a name and replace it with mine, still spelt wrong... "There! All done! Sorry about the confusion Mr Bjorgman! Enjoy your stay!" his sudden eagerness is scary, something's not right. He then spins round and hurries off to the back room. Did I just hear him lock the door behind him?

"Oh look at that, you're next to me. Come, I'll show you to your room" something is definitely not right.

"Okay, just let me go check on my reindeer" I say, desperate to get outside for a bit.

I hurry outside and check on Sven; he'd fallen asleep, but his nose starts to twitch and he jumps upright, something he only ever does for carrots. "Here ya go boy, as promised" I have a chat with Sven about all that has just happened. "So get this: a random stranger has just threatened the innkeeper with some sort of weapon to get me a room? That just never happens. Ever. Is it because I'm considered a little famous around this area? If what he said is true, then I kinda am! You should have seen them in there Sven, they were craning their necks just to get a look at me! Am I honestly that important? All I did was escort Anna through the mountains!

My thought train halts there. I think of my little princess waiting for me back home to which, before I left, I promised that I would get back safely. I could never get into any sort of trouble around here, not while Shamus seems to have my back for now. Will he ask for money? I have enough to give to him but… Oh I don't know. I think my best solution is to just stay here the night, check out in the morning and be on my way through Fallcoach Valley by midday, that's best.

"Okay buddy, we're gonna stay here the night. Finish your carrots, but save some for breakfast tomorrow! You'll need your strength for that journey; I want to get through quick."

"_Okay Krissy. Goodnight! Don't let the frostbite bite!_"

"Hey, only Anna can call me that! But goodnight Sven" I give his head a scratch and head back into the inn. When I get in I find Shamus waiting with my cocoa in his hands, I actually forgot about that!

"This is gonna be cold by the time you drink it!"

"Oh yeah, thanks!" I take it and take several large gulps, and embrace the welcoming warmth that the cocoa instantly gifts me with. "So which room am I in?"

"Room 7, I'm in room 6. It's this way" he says as he starts to head towards the door.

"So have you had any business recently from people wanting escorts?" I say, making conversation as we head down the corridor, the wooden log cabin theme retains itself as we walk.

"I have actually; a client will be here soon for passage across the Valley."

"So you have to travel around a lot them? Have you ever been to Shore's Supplies?"

"I have! I was there but a few days ago! Is that where you're headed?"

"Yeah, it's my last delivery as ice master, and then I'm officially resigning to a life in the palace with Princess Anna." My mind fills with images of her again, and the sound of her sweet laugh, gosh I miss her.

"Aww good for you; finding someone the way you have, it's like a proper fairy tale!"

"I… I guess it is yeah" never really thought about it in that way before.

"Check you out!" he says giving me a playful elbow, "leaving an ice business and a shack behind for a life in the palace! Looks like you can say you did it!" When he puts it like that he has a point, I do love that shack, and I think Anna does too! I'll be keeping that I think.

"Well I think I'll keep that as a second home, I think life in the palace might be a little too much every now and then."

"Oh yes. How hard you'll find it living with your loved princess in a palace where you won't ever want for anything? I think you'll be okay bud." He says in a rather condescending tone, "Ah!" He says as our walk comes to an end outside my room, "This is yours. I will be off in a few hours but until then I'll be next door if you need anything"

"Thanks Shamus, and thanks for, whatever it was you did back there to free up this room, I really appreciate it."

"Not a problem Kristoff, have you ever stayed here before?"

"No, actually I didn't know it was here, I usually just daydream on my trips." It's true, it was Sven that spotted this place.

"Ah I see, well time goes faster that way! I hope you find it as comfy as your shack back home!" he chuckles.

I doubt that. "We'll see won't we? Goodnight Shamus"

"Take care Kristoff" he says as we both retreat into our room and click the doors shut.

Wow! How did I not know this place existed? The room was very cosy with a stove in the corner and a hotplate on top, with a teapot with cocoa powder in it! _So much more cocoa _I think dreamily. I fill it with water and place it on the hotplate. I take off my overcoat and hang it behind the door, though I leave my hat on. I never take it off. I then sit on the bed and gather my thoughts. I was stupid earlier, thinking everything was bad and that something could happen. It's an Inn for goodness sake, and it's right on the edge of Fallcoach Valley! Of course it's gonna be packed! I lay back and chill out for a sec, I'm gonna enjoy this stay, I can tell. A very soft, comfy bed, cocoa on the way, and a nice view over the stables so I can check on Sven, who is actually less than five feet away from me, and sound asleep. Pretty darn chilled if I say so myself! The only thing that would make this perfect would be Anna. As an ice master, I'm actually not permitted to bring anyone with me for security reasons, but I always found a way to smuggle her in. We have always said that if anyone were to find out, just use the 'I'm the princess of Arendelle' card. We'd stay up most of the night drinking cocoa and talking about anything we liked! The other night we talked about her cousin across the North Sea, Rapunzel she said her name was, she married a thief! I can't help but wonder whether Elsa approved of this, she's so protective of Anna that I wonder if she'd be the same with 'Blondie' as Anna calls her, although apparently blondie has brown hair? Meh, I'm too tired to think about that now, Shamus was right about this room though; I actually do think it's more comfortable than the sha-

_How the hell did he know I live in a shack!?_

I'm bolt upright. There's no way he could have known is there? I start reciting our conversations. I definitely didn't talk about where I lived, I didn't even say I lived in Arendelle for that matter, but that could be common knowledge from the tales that have spread, but the shack? No way. And I've never heard of any mercenaries that offer escorts either! No one takes this route other than deliverymen like me, and we aren't allowed to have anyone else with us when we travel, it's forbidden! Of course Anna was an exception. No, something's definitely not right. I jump to my feet, grab my coat and grab the door handle, but it won't budge! It's locked? I didn't lock it!

But I freeze. I can hear voices on the other side. I press my ear up to the door and listen. Yes, I can hear Shamus, if that's even his name, and he's talking to someone, someone that sounds like they're in charge. I can only just make out the words 'Kristoff', 'my lord', 'and Anna'.

My heart sinks. _Anna! _Why are they talking about her?! I need to get out of here, now! I look through the window and see Sven looking in as well. He must feel it too. I rush over and start to pry open the window, but the handle won't budge either! It feels very cold though, colder than the outside? I look at the handle to see it is literally frozen stuck, with ice? What the heck is going on? Sven starts panicking now; if I can get to him I might have a chance of outrunning them, whoever 'they' are! I tap lightly on the window and Sven comes right up to the glass, accidently hitting it with his antlers.

"Oooh whoa, you okay boy?" but Sven is scared now. Nothing can calm a scared reindeer until it feels it's safe. He starts thrashing about at the window, cracking it! "Hey! Hey do that again buddy!" He takes a small run up this time and sends his antlers straight into the window, and it smashes into pieces!

"Good boy Sven!" I say to him, but I hear the lock behind me being fondled with; they're coming in! I leap out the window and untie Sven from the stable and the sled. _Sorry Anna, hope you understand!_ I say to myself as I jump on Sven "YA!" I cry out, and Sven fires off like a bullet back the way we came. Forget Shore's Supplies, I need to get back to Anna before those guys do- "WHOA!" I call out as Sven slams on the brakes. The way through the forest is blocked by a felled tree that's caught fire! That definitely wasn't there before, and Sven really doesn't like large fires. He's starting to rear and jump about "Okay calm boy! Easy, try that way!" I call pointing to the edge of the road, but this forest is so packed with rocks and trees there's no way out! "No! which way?" but Sven has already spun around and taken off again, flying passed the inn- the entire place has gone up in flames! I think about Oaken, and all of the people inside. Are they safe? Will Oaken find some way of getting them out? It sounds like it's just me they want, but why? I'm an ice deliverer! As we pass the signpost I read earlier, I presume that Sven worked it out before I did, and I had been avoiding it but it looks like it's our only option. We need to go through Fallcoach Valley, turn right before the road to Shore's, and use that mountain road to head back towards Arendelle. This was NOT supposed to happen! This was supposed to be my last trip, and it was supposed to be a breeze!

* * *

The scenery quickly changes around us. The stone road laid out for us becomes thinner, trees are replaced by rocks and mountain walls, and the fences either side of us now cease to exist, so nothing is between us and the sheer drops to the valley floor below. This place couldn't be any more creepy if it tried. The lush greenery has all come to an end and instead we are surrounded by all things rock; there's spiky rock formations, jagged rock formations, smooth rock formations, just rock everywhere! Sven has put a fair bit of distance between us and out pursuers, although I don't even know if they gave chase to us? I didn't see them, and I certainly don't seem them now. We slow our pace down a notch, though still an eager trot. So someone, or some people, for some reason, tried to ambush me at the inn. It didn't feel like a random mugging either, the keenness to get me booked in to THAT room for the night, the way Shamus was so welcoming to me, then it turns out he knows about my home, the ice on the window? This was all organised, someone is trying to grab me. But we've left them now, and Sven is much faster than a horse, on snow and ice that is, and there's very little of that here. I hope he can shift it on stone as well.

Okay, this is bad. We're now travelling through Fallcoach Valley with no food, water or any form of defense. I left all of that in the sled! I should have grabbed something! I just have to hope and pray that the rest of our new route is uninterrupted. Just as I say that, Sven halts in place, and his keen ears seem to be twitching as he listens.

"What is it pal? What do you hear?" But he's not listening to me. Whatever he can hear, it's big. Wait- I can hear it now? Pebbles and stones start to roll down the walls of the cliffs either side of as and stop at Sven's feet. As he lowers his head to sniff them I can feel it, very low rumbling like an earthquake. A fast gust of wind then catches me off guard as it carries my hat off into the distant valley. This wind is getting stronger though, much stronger. I peer over my shoulder to see what the source might be, and what I see horrifies me.

A huge wall of water casts its shadow as it rampages through the valley towards us! "Sven go!" I scream, but he's already ploughing ahead of us away from the ocean that seems to have appeared out of nowhere! He's really going fast, but I can't see us outrunning a tsunami. Pappie told stories of them; waves of water sent from the sea that engulf entire towns and cities, claiming hundreds, if not, thousands of lives and wreaking havoc in their wake. But not this one, there are no seas around here. The closest is the North Sea back towards Arendelle, but that's miles away! This monster must be the result of sorcery else it would have subsided by now but it hasn't. It's still going strong and building speed and there are no settlements in this valley, only us. Sven is now moving faster than he ever has in his life, but it's not fast enough. The wave is so close now that I can feel water vapour on my neck. I turn to look at our pursuer lapping up all the ground we are fighting to cover with ease, so close now that I can make out the foam at the edge of this enormous killer. I look ahead of us to see even more valley floor to cover that would no doubt twist and turn through the mountains. I quickly decide that there was absolutely no way we are getting out of this one. Being an ice deliverer and working so close to the sea, I know certain precautions to take in case of a tidal wave, but that involved open ground and a single wave. This is an enclosed Valley floor with an entire ocean chasing us, but I know I have to try something!

"Sven! Get ready to hold your breath buddy! Just keep still, follow the current and swim to the surface when you can see it ok?" He gives a chortle of approval and took a deep breath in. I then did the same and close my eyes, the second I finished inhaling, the wave strikes us, absorbing us into its body. The force of the impact winds me and shoves me into Sven; I nearly lose an eye on his antlers! I grip hold of his fur and try to keep hold of him, but he is ripped from my grasp and I find myself tumbling and turning in a whirlpool of currents coming from all around me, slamming me into rocks and the sides of the valley over and over again. Now I can start to feel the sheer weight of the water around us, it's making my ears pop! I force my eyes open, but all I can see is a flurry of blue and white that stings my eyes; I still can't work out where the surface is! My chest is of fire; I need air now! Where's Sven? I try and look around, but this is seriously making me dizzy now. I try and spot his brown blur through the water, but I can't make anything out through all these bubbles churning around me. My lungs are twitching now! I'm forcing my mouth and nose shut but they've got a mind of their own! My lungs twitch hard and water forces its way down my throat, and I start choking on the mix of water and small pockets of air in the foam. _Foam! _Foam floats! I must be close to the surface! In one huge effort, I thrust my limbs backwards and force my head above the water! I swallow so much air now, but I can only get a little in as my body's still fighting off the surge of water in my chest. I can feel the currents below me, but for now I am still afloat. I manage to grab some driftwood that must have come from the valley wall's supports and it is enough.

"SVE- *cough cough* SVEN!" I scream at the top of my voice as much as it hurts me, but way off into the distance I can see him! He's afloat also, coughing up water, and manages to bite hold of a felled tree to the side atop of the valley wall. The current is bringing me around him and I frantically fight to reach him. Every movement sends fiery pains into my lungs but, using up every last bit of energy and air my body has, I manage to grab his hoof and slowly, he pulls me ashore. I slump on top of his chest as it gently raises, gulping up grateful amounts of air. I look back to what were so nearly our watery tombs; the entire valley seems to have filled with water! Just as I think this, the water drains away just like that! It must have been sorcery, but I'm both physically and mentally exhausted, I can feel myself slipping into unconsciousness when I see them.

I can just about make out the purple jacket before darkness overcomes me…

* * *

**Oh no! What is he going to do now? What does Lord Cyril have planned for his new guest? Will Kristoff be able to keep his promise to Anna?**

**You'll just have to wait and see!**

**Also thank's for 650+ views, That's crazy! I know I say it a lot, I think after every chapter... but it does mean a heck of a lot so thanks! And I'm very happy with the reception my new Characters have gotten, I was a bit unsure about bringing Hans back but it looks like it was a good decision? Please let me know what you think in a review, I'd really appreciate it!**

**One more thing also, I'm having problems with my keyboard and the "a" key seems to stick every now and then. I proofread everything anyway but if you do happen to see a lot of "aaa"'s around on their own, or in words like thaat, then you know why!**

**Now I think it's time to go back to Arendelle now for a little while, don't you?**

**See you in 7...**

**All the best,**

**-Dan**


	7. Clairvoyant Reminiscence

**Clairvoyant Reminiscence**

**-SPOILERS- **

**This chapter contains a lot of spoilers to the Disney film 'Tangled'. You have been warned!**

* * *

"_Dear Princess Anna &amp; Soon-to-be-Queen Elsa!_

_Gosh this is so weird writing to you for the first time in my life! I didn't know where you guys lived! How come you never wrote to me? I can't believe I actually have a family now! Eugene and I decided that once the city is under the watchful eye of Maximus, one of the palace horses (don't ask!) it's about time we travel, and where better to start than to visit our cousins in Arendelle! So we are going to organise a trip over there soon to see you, save a room in the palace for us!_

_I can't tell you how excited I am to be writing to you guys like this! Ever since I met Eugene my life has changed completely! I have moved from living in a tower all my life to finding out that- get this: I'm the lost princess! I can't believe it! All this time my 'beloved' witch of a mother had only been keeping me so that my hair keeps her alive! It's so selfish! Oh yeah, you don't know about my hair do you? Or do you? News seems to spread fast so you might already know but in case you don't: I have magic hair that glows when I sing and it keeps the old young and heals the wounded… It's kind of hard to grasp, but it's true!_

_Oh and about Eugene, the only reason I met him was because he was trying to steal the lost princess's crown (now I didn't know this at the time obviously but I saw an opportunity), so I hid it and said I'd only give it back when he took me to see the floating lanterns. Oh yeah, every year on my birthday my parents would release tens of thousands of floating lanterns into the sky at midnight to celebrate my birth, and hope that I'd see it and come home. Well Flynn, as he was called back then, took me on this huge adventure which involved us nearly drowning, being chased through the underground by the royal guards (they didn't know I was 'me' yet either) and he fought a horse, Maximus, with a frying pan against the horse's dagger! When we got to the city, the lights were just amazing… exactly how I'd dreamed they'd be! It was then I realized he loved me and we almost kissed, but he was captured and nearly hung! Maximus then changed his mind about us and broke him out of prison and brought him to me at the tower, where mo- Gothel, nearly killed him! I tried to heal him with my hair, but he cut it straight off of me, and it killed her! And then, stay with me here, it turns out my tears can heal as well so he came back to me and then we kissed!_

_Sorry that was quite a lot but I had to tell you all this! When I found out I had cousins in Arendelle I knew I had to write something, and there is so much to say, and so much more! But I'll save that for when I get there and see you guys!_

_I can't wait to see you! Apparently Mother has told me that it is Elsa's coronation soon? I'm gonna try and get over there around then! I can't wait for you to meet Eugene, he's the most amazing person in the world and he loves me for who I am! We're so happy to be together, and now we're married, nothing can change that!_

_So what's going on with you guys? Mother said that you are keeping the gates to the palace closed? Are you still keeping them closed? Because I've been thinking, if they are still closed, will they be open for the coronation? Are they going to stay open now? If so, I think that's so cool! I don't think they should ever close again! Also, I have to mention it, Elsa, mother also told me that you have some kind of gical control over snow and ice? Is that true? If so, then that is so cool! See we're not so unlike are we? How are you getting on with your abilities now? Have you got the hang of them yet? Apparently there was some sort of accident when you guys were younger? I hope everything is alright now though! Also I heard about Auntie Idun and Uncle Agdar. I'm so sorry to hear it. I feel awful because it was our wedding they were heading to… I'm so sorry guys. I hope you have been coping okay!_

_Just remember we are always here if you want to talk! Please write back to us!_

_Love you all,_

_Rapunzel._

_Xxx_

I don't know what to make of it. To find out that the cousin I have been writing to for most of my life that never replied, actually had never received any of my post because mother and father had been hoarding it together in this box? I don't understand!

"It doesn't make any sense Gerda, why would Mother and Father keep this from us?"

Gerda is with me in my study. She'd knocked on the door and when she entered she was holding a box labelled: Agdar &amp; Idun memoirs. It turned out that it had been found underneath my parents' bed, and contained small paintings of us when we were younger, and lots and lots of letters that I had written to Rapunzel through my childhood. There were none from her however, other than this one. Why would they choose to keep this one?

"Maybe she wanted to keep this for when you were ready sweetie?" She says, with one hand on my shoulder as I scan the letter again.

"But why? What was that bad that she had to wait until now?" I start to get a lump in my throat, like I do every time I think about my parents.

"Actually," Gerda starts, noticing something in the text, "it could be because your cousin talks about the accident, and maybe she didn't want Anna to see it?"

"That could be. Yeah, I guess that makes sense." But something still doesn't seem to add up with this, "But wait, she talks about the boat sinking? So this was sent after they-" I start to choke on my words now; but luckily Gerda knows what I'm trying to say.

"I know sweetie, I know."

She knows what? "Are you trying to say something Gerda?" I start to get defensive now, if she's keeping something from me about my parents then I have a right to know!

She takes a minute and lets out a sigh, "Honey, before he died, your Father gave me strict orders: If any mail was sent to either of you girls from Rapunzel, I was to keep it from you. He said that he wanted to show it to you all when you were ready. I believe that he would have shown it to you both on your coronation." This revelation is shocking to say the least.

"I suppose that makes sense too." But it makes me wonder what else is being hidden from us. But wait, if Gerda is so loyal why is she telling this to me now?

"So why have you waited all this time to tell me?"

"Well, before she died, your Mother gave me strict orders too. She said that if anything were to happen to them before your coronation, I was to reveal it to you, and only you, when I felt the time were right, and that you, and only you, should share this all with Anna when you think the time is right. I think that she had an idea of the dangers of such a long trip across the North Sea during the stormy season. I made a judgment call to tell you after your coronation, but with everything that happened, and you were so busy with your responsibilities as Queen that these past few days have been your only time off, so I figured that now would be the best time to tell you. I'm so sorry for this secrecy dear, but I was under orders of the king and queen!"

"No it's okay Gerda, I understand." It dawns on me now how serious the aftermath could be if Anna found out why we'd been locked away, although she did anyway, "My Mother and Father trusted you with their lives, and I trust you with ours." I say as I bring one of my most trusted friends into a compassionate hug.

"Everything your parents did was because they were thinking of you and Anna my lovely," her words just increase the pain of trying not to cry. Gosh I'm rich to call myself a queen if I can't even control my own emotions, "and to this day I have never met a father that would literally give up whatever needed to be given to give his children the best life they could possibly live." I had lost my battle as I broke away from her embrace in tears. "Aww sweetie, if I could click my fingers and bring them back I would, at any cost," she lifts my drooped chin with her finger, "but if life worked like that it would be too easy. Right now what is important is that though you have lost dear family members, you have gained so many more! You are the most loved queen across the continent, you have the most wonderful sister that would give the world to make you happy, and you have an entire kingdom that cherishes you and would stand by you in the face of anything, and to top it off," she points to the skies outside, "your parents have the best seats in the house to watch all this happen around their own daughter." Gerda always has the right words to say, I'd be lost without her.

"Thank you Gerda, for everything." She holds my hand in hers and I rest my head on her shoulder in silence for a few minutes. Eventually I clear my throat and begin again, "Shall we continue looking through this?" I smile as I tap the box in her lap.

"Oh yes! It looks like there are plenty of things in here!"

It takes a few minutes to go through the letters I had sent to Rapunzel to see if there was anything in between them, but we found nothing, so we continue to look through some more memories on paper including notes mother had left for father when she had been out of the palace. Some of them are quite humorous actually; notes reminding him of things like training 'the training of the guard takes place at noon today, don't forget!'. It's funny because he would never forget that, he loved working with our military and he played a big part in training the kingdoms secret elite guard, the 'Guardians of the Fallen'. The name may sound menacing, and it's for a reason. I grew up hearing stories about a secret order that guard the bodies of those fallen protecting Arendelle from her enemies. These bodies were kept in a tomb somewhere in this palace, which also housed magical weapons that could vanquish almost any unholy foe! But no one knows where it is, only my father, who would disappear for days at a time to train this secret group. That's how the story goes anyway, and when I'm older I find out that not only does the order exist, but Father was the administrator. He would train the guards and, should it be necessary, he would assign contracts to individuals for the protection of Arendelle. It really was a horrible way of dealing with things, but Father always said in the real world there are lots of big and powerful people that take would advantage of my kingdom and that precautions were often needed. The stories of the bodies and the weapons existing however, I find extremely hard to believe. There is no mention of any of this in my books or in this box, though I doubt there would be anyway.

Gerda snaps me out of my day dream by spotting something in the bottom of the box, "Ah, here it is!" she exclaims, lifting what looks like a crystal pendant! These things are so rare! A thin, luminescent blue crystal about two inches long on a thin silver chain with strange tangled-styled links, they are so sought after by blacksmiths and jewellers all over the globe because they were once owned by legendary wizards and witches. It is said that when they die, they encase their souls in these crystals to fortify the minds of those that wear them, bringing out their best qualities. I can't help but wonder what an item like this could do for me and my abilities, but I'm still trying to work out how my parents had one? Gerda seems to have an idea as she's smiling like she's reading my mind.

"That pendant used to belong to a very powerful wizard who was a dear friend and advisor to the king and queen. A few weeks before their wedding, the wizard passed away in his sleep, and this pendant" she said giving it a gentle tap, "was sent to them by courier. He didn't say where he was from or what it was, he just stood up in the middle of the ceremony, approached them both with the package, and turn and ran out of the chapel with the entire city guards behind him! They thought it was some plot to kill the royals!" she quietly giggled to herself, "well it turns out that before he died, the wizard made arrangements for this pendant to be collected from his cottage and delivered as a gift."

"Why would he do that?" I ask, still enchanted by the gleaming beauty of this precious gem that I hold in my very hands.

"No one knows, but I think that he knew he was passing, and he gave your parents the gift of his everlasting wisdom to live on with them. It could be another reason that everything they seemed to do, no matter how big or small, worked so well! I like to believe it gifted them with two beautiful girls with magical abilities of their own!"

"I'd like to think that too." It makes sense, me with my power and Anna with hers; her personality, blessed with such a loving and caring heart. Always thinking for everyone else, never for herself, I value that over my ability any day, and it's why I'm so protective of her. Like Hans, people would use that power against her for their own greed.

Just then, Gerda slowly scoops up the pendant from my hands and undoes the small latch. "Spin around dearie," she said in a soft tone, "I think your parents would want their queen to have this." I turn my back to her as she carefully drapes the pendant over my head and around my neck. It's quite a short chain and the crystal sits just central on my chest, in line with my heart. I instantly feel its influence radiate through me, I feel so awake and revitalised! Gerda does the latch up behind my neck as I scoop up my braid and thread it out of the pendant. "Let's have a look!" she says as she hurries me over to the mirror. The pendant goes perfectly with my ice-white and blue gown I'm wearing, and literally gleams elegance. "Oh sweetie…" Gerda starts tearing up now.

"Are you okay?" I ask, noticing her upset.

"Yes dear, it's just that you look the spitting image of your mother…"

This hits me hard. I look back to the mirror and visualise her stood next to me; Gerda's right, I do look just like her. Lost in thought I put my hand up and rest it where my mother is standing, and I see her do the same. She is as radiant as ever in the same royal gown she would wear on her rounds of Arendelle; this is how the people would see her in her most beautiful, sophisticated and regal state, yet she, the Queen of Arendelle, would return to the palace to me and Anna and be my favourite person in the world: My mother. Our mother. Our mother that loved us both so much. She would play with us, read to us, and would have done anything to keep us safe, and then there's me. The Queen known for killing her sister by freezing her heart, only for her to thaw it with her own love she had for me, the one that put her there in the first place. I was about to thank Gerda for putting the pendant on me, but the waterworks have started again…

"Thank you Gerda- *sniff*, for everything."

"It's been a pleasure my Queen, it's been nice to recall fond memories again."

"No I mean for everything you've done for us, me and Anna, my Parents, Arendelle. You and Kai both have been the hidden driving force behind us for most of our lives, being there for us when we lost our parents, for helping the people in the winter I caused, even for changing my sheets every week! All the big and small things that you've done, thank you so much."

"Again, it's been a pleasure my lovely." as she sucks me into a warm embrace. I look back at the mirror to see my mother one last time,

But she's already gone.

* * *

It's so weird walking around Arendelle without Kristoff here! He and I are usually joined at the hip and would do everything together, only this time I had to find other things to do by myself to pass the time; I can't even find Olaf to have a snowball fight with. Elsa's always away doing responsible, boring 'queeny' stuff, though to be fair she does have a lot to catch up on since we'd taken some 'time off' recently. I think she's got some time to kill today though; I'll go track her down. See if she's up for lunch?

I start making my way up to her room, but now I can't stop thinking about lunch. I'm so hungry! I wonder what Kai and Gerda are rustling up in the kitchen? I'll soon find out, Elsa and I can both go down together at the same time. My stomach is rumbling now, it's really loud too! I hope I don't get any dodgy looks! I'm that concerned about my belly noises that I almost missed Gerda leaving Elsa's room!

"Oh, hey Gerda! Is Elsa in there?"

"Hello Anna! Yes she is, you guys going to lunch?"

"Yeah! I'm starving!" It's no secret that I am excited. I'll never get bored of lunch with my sis, after spending so much of my life away from her I cherish every second we share together.

"Oh okay then, just give us a minute? I need to find Kai and we'll need to go out for some supplies! I was side-tracked this morning!" She says as she hurries out down the corridor. This actually makes me think of something.

"Hey Gerda?" I call out to her just before she hurried out of view, "Don't worry about cooking today, Elsa and I can go out for a meal at the Carvery or the Pizzeria!"

"Oh sweetie are you sure? I feel bad that the shopping hasn't been done today, it is my job to cook for you guys!" she said with a very apologetic tone.

"No honestly it's fine! I could do with some time out of the palace anyway, say, would you guys like to join us?"

"Oh I'd love to dearie, but I really must track down Kai and start on today's jobs. I should have started this morning but I was chatting with Elsa!"

"Okay then, well sees you later then!" I begin as she is already jogging away.

I head into Elsa's room to find her sat next to a cardboard box with lots of papers and notes inside, she's reading over a rather long letter. When she notices me she smiles, but I notice she has those tell-tale bloodshot eyes of a crier.

"Hey baby sis! I was wondering when you'd gotten to!" she says wiping her eyes.

"Elsa, you need to stop crying missy! It seems like that's all you do now!" I kid, though mixed with genuine concern. "I was just wondering around, looking for something to do without Krissy." I sit and put my arm over her shoulder, "C'mon Else, you're supposed to be the big sister here! What's up?"

"It's just something that Gerda showed me" she said, referring to the box next to her, "It's some of Mother and Father's things".

"Oh. What sort of things?" I start to get an empty feeling inside, like I always do whenever I imagine my parents. I didn't know they had left anything for us at all!

"There are some paintings of us all when we were younger, some notes they had written to each other, and apparently all the letters Rapunzel had wrote back to us had been hidden because they knew about the accident."

"What? Hidden? Why?" that comes as a huge surprise to me, as I flick through our fun memories captured on canvas.

"Gerda knew why." She started, but she is interrupted by my stomach giving off an enormously inappropriately timed rumble. "Ooh sounds like someone is hungry!" she said, giving my belly a playful poke.

"I am starving actually! I said to Gerda that we'd go out for lunch as she got caught up with stuff this morning so she's a bit behind her jobs."

"Oops, that's my fault. I'd love to go to lunch! Ooh, where did you have in mind?" she said, playfully dropping her head in her hands quizzically.

"What about the Pizzeria? I haven't been there in a while!" Great, now I can't stop thinking about pizza.

"Sounds fantastic, let me just get ready" she says turning towards her wardrobe, but something catches my eye.

"Wait, Elsa what's this?" I ask as I reach out to the long crystal hanging from around her neck, twiddling it in my fingers.

"Oh, it's one of those really rare crystal pendants! Mother had one. Gerda said it used to belong to a wizard once."

"Oh Elsa it's gorgeous! It suits you perfectly!" I've always said that Elsa is the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, and this pendant just adds to her look.

"Tehe thank you," she smiles, "I was just thinking how it would look on you!"

"No way, blue has always been your colour" I said with a wink.

* * *

"So, she was here? That day on your coronation, I walked straight past her?"

"I guess so, with Eugene" said Elsa with a giggle, "wait, wasn't that one of your singing moments? Didn't you skip past her?"

"Oh yeah, I may of!"

Sitting in the Pizzeria, I had just finished reading the letter Rapunzel had sent from Corona. I can't believe I have a cousin that lives so far away! Not just that, she was right there, probably trying to speak to me but I was in my own little world. The irony! If I'd had known I would have stopped and said hi! I guess they never got the chance to say hi to us before everything kicked off.

"I'm glad we went out for lunch Anna," Elsa began, "it is good to get out of the palace every now and then"

"I'm glad you agree, we need to this more often!" I said with glee. This place is so cute! It's a full blown restaurant tuck away near the harbour, so the menu mainly consisted of seafood as well as pizza, much to my delight! It had a beautiful interior, from the walls laced with brick and blue tapestries, to the floor with its green and teal carpet and tiles. "How cute is this place!"

"I know right! I think it's new, I remember seeing the ownership exchange request on my desk a few days ago, it's run by someone called Leonardo I think."

"Leonardo Puerico?"

"Actually that name does ring a bell! Do you know him?"

"Hehe, kind of…" I say scratching the back of my head.

"How do you know him?" she said smiling, but I can tell she's genuinely concerned.

"His son is a guard for the palace, well he used to be. I didn't see him on parade last week. But anyway, he would always playfully flirt with me, he had such a dreamy accent! Kristoff didn't like it and the two had a bit of a spat over it. Unfortunately Krissy didn't come off better this time. I forgot to tell him that he was a royal guard!"

"Ooh look at my baby sis having two men fight over her!" she said sipping her cranberry punch.

"It was quite funny! I was very honoured." I said, raising my chin to look comically noble, making Elsa giggle.

"Gosh I'd love to have men fight over me! Can you imagine?"

"I can imagine you picking your favourite and freezing the other actually, and that's

hilarious!" Envisioning it in my head actually brings me to laughter.

Elsa covers her mouth as she too is laughing quite hard, just as the waiter comes over to take our order. I'm taken aback by how handsome he is. Long, wavy blonde hair, fairly tall and a good build. Hmph, still not my Krissy! "Good Afternoon my Queen and Princess, what can I get you for today?"

"Can I have the Fishmongers Pizza and chocolate ice cream for afters?"

"You're ordering desert already Anna?" Elsa asks, "How can you be sure you'll be able to finish it?"

"It's chocolate, I'll find some way." I respond as she giggles again.

"Gosh," she says scanning me up and down, "where on earth do you put it all!"

"Okay, one Fishmongers Pizza and one chocolate ice cream. And what would you like your Majesty?"

"Ooh I don't know, whatever you would recommend?" she said with a very girly giggle, even for her.

"What about the seafood platter? It's got a bit of everything that way." He said back, with a grin.

"Oh okay! Do you catch the fish yourself then?" She's playing with her hair? Could this be? I feel like a pendulum constantly looking to him, then to her, and then back to him…

"Yes actually, my brother and I supply all of the food to the restaurant from the North Sea."

"Wow! That must be hard work then?" Okay I'm getting hungry now Elsa…

"It can be, but we've never had an accident before." He finishes scribbling down on his pad, but not before he's finished his long gaze into Elsa's eyes, "So one seafood platter, coming right up!" He said bowing and turning away to the kitchens. But my eyes are locked on Elsa's whose eyes still follow him to the door. I follow her eye level and it sits right on his-

"Well now who has a crush on someone?" I said jokingly!

"Huh?" That snaps her out of her trance! "What do you mean? I don't have a crush on him silly!" she said, but her cherry red cheeks and eyes give it all away to me.

"Well I think he's cute."

"Oh he's gorgeous isn't he?"

"Ha! Got ya!" I actually rise out of my chair and point at her with excitement! "You like him don't you!"

"Anna! I'm the Queen I can't have crush on people, I have too many duties to handle to think about that!"

"You didn't say no!" I point out, "And why not? It worked for mother and father, wouldn't you want someone there next to you? Helping out with royal stuff, being the one you turn to with any problems, sneaking off on your own on romantic breaks somewhere?" saying this makes me miss Kristoff even more…

"It would be nice I guess, but I'll figure it out in my own time. Let me just enjoy the new, great life we both now have okay?" she says holding my hand.

"Okay, but one day I'm hooking you up with someone, deal?"

"Hehe, okay deal, but they better be as handsome as him!" she giggles.

"Only the best for my big sis!" I say as we lock pinkies.

Just then a massive crash rings around the whole restaurant, and the sound of splintered wood confirms my thoughts that someone had just kicked the door down! I spin to face the door, as does Elsa, and we both meet the gaze of a dripping wet reindeer that looks just like-

"Sven!" I shout as throw my chair back running towards the poor creature, he looks petrified and thrashes about in panic, throwing tables and chairs in the air with his antlers. I hold my hands up in front of him, like I'd seen Krissy do before "Hey easy boy! Easy!" he starts to relax at the sound of my voice, but is still acting manic never the less.

"Urgh I can't hold him." I start, but Elsa's not listening, she's looking outside quite distressfully. She then turns to me with a very worried face. "What is it?" I ask, but instead of an answer, she just takes off out the door.

I begin to calm Sven finally and gently escort him outside, when the waiter comes in with our food, and almost drops it in shock. "Om my- What happened in here? Who's damn reindeer is that?" he shouts in obvious annoyance.

"Sorry!" I say, "I'll make sure you are fully reimbursed for all this!" I feel so bad for him, but I need to find out what's gotten Elsa all flurried. "It's okay boy," I say patting Sven's back, "we'll go find Kristoff and he can calm you down with his carrots! That sound good?" but the sound of Krissy's name seems to bother Sven even more.

We get outside to a sight I have never seen before. Elsa is running around franticly grabbing random people by the shoulders and asking then something I can't quite make out from here. "Elsa?" I call out. She turns to me, and I can see that her face is flooded in terror. "Elsa what is it? You're scaring me now."

"Anna I can't find Kristoff. He left on his trip didn't he? But Sven's here and where is he?"

Sven starts to kick out again and starts snorting and grunting really loud now! "It's okay bud, chill!" I turn to Elsa now, "Well he obviously came back for some strange reason; he'll be around here somewhere. He might be sorting out locking away the sled. I'm sure there's a logical reason for this." I smile to her, but inside I am starting to panic now. Wherever Sven goes, Krissy is always right there as well, else he'd be with me in the palace!

Then I hear a voice through the newly gathered crowd carry its way to us, "Has anyone seen a reindeer run through here?"

"Yes he's over here!" I almost scream back with relief. "See I knew there would be a reason for this!" I calmly said to Elsa, but her eyes don't move from the source of the voice.

"Anna, that doesn't look like Kristoff." She said as she nods to just behind me. I then see a man on horseback emerge from the crowd. He is not a man that I recognise, with a slender build and dark hair, riding a brown and white horse bearing no palace markings, so he's not from around here. He jumps off of his horse and bolts for me and Elsa, and is instantly tackled to the ground by about three guards out of nowhere.

"Lift him up" Elsa commands, determined to find out what the meaning of all this was. Two guards hold him by his arms and bring him up to his knees as the other approaches Elsa with a note in his hands. Now I'm closer, I can make out the burn marks on his face. They look new! His jacket is also covered in ash and soot?

"He was holding this your Majesty!" he says, handing her the piece of paper.

"Who are you?" Elsa queries, not yet opening the note.

"*cough* My name is Matt- *cough cough* I was staying at an inn not too far from here. This guy came to stay with that reindeer. The next thing I know, the place goes up in flames and he bolts through Fallcoach Valley leaving his sled behind and some other guys give chase!"

What!? Kristoff was chased by people!? "Release him!" I command this time, and the guards lift the man to his feet, one even brushes off his jacket for him. "What are you talking about?" I say eagerly.

"Well I'm stood outside for about 10 minutes trying to figure out what happened, when that reindeer comes running back, completely drenched! I thought it was so strange you see, because there is absolutely no water in Fallcoach at all! I thought it was quite ironic actually because you see-"

"Get back to the reindeer Matt, what happened next?" I interrupt, hurrying him on.

"Oh sorry. So yeah, this reindeer came back to the inn drenched, and with that note pinned to his collar. I tried to calm him but before I could, he took off this way and the note fell off. Something felt strange about it so I jumped on my horse and followed him here. My gosh he can run fast!" he says very out of breath, and then points to the note, "I hope whatever was in that note was worth it!"

"Thank you Matt." I turn to the guards, "Take him to the palace. Ensure both he and his horse are well fed and fully rested before they go on their way."

"Yes your Royal Highness" The one at the front says as he escorts them both away, apologising for the misunderstanding. I then turn to Elsa to see she is already reading the note, and all the blood drains away from her face and she turns ghostly white.

"Elsa?" I start freaking out now, "Elsa what does it say?"

She doesn't respond. Instead she just hands me the letter. I quickly begin to read it:

"_My dear Princess Anna,_

_How are you? You don't know me, but I know you, and I'm am getting to know Kristoff very well. He's not much of a talker right now, but I'm sure he'll perk up._

_I can't believe you value your family so low! Your own sister has tried to kill you, twice, and yet you still seem to care for her and cherish her? Pathetic! You, in the position you are in as princess of Arendelle, should have known better! To think that Arendelle would have turned to you if Elsa had to 'stand down' as queen because she can't control her own powers! Even more pathetic!_

_It's insolent little brats like you that rue this world, you will make a world of butterflies, cakes and chocolate flavoured dandelions if you could, but that's NOT how things work on this earth, let me promise you that! You dare call yourself royal just because it's in your blood, when there are tens of thousands that would do a far better job at it than a little girl like yourself._

_I have decided that enough is enough. I will not simply stand aside and let you ruin all that is loyal and true about this world, so I have removed from your life the only distraction you have from your sister, and your duties as princess. Without Kristoff to turn to, how can your trust in Elsa possibly remain after everything that she has done to you? If that's what it takes to make you see, then so be it._

_You have three weeks to prove to me that you are a fit enough ruler of this kingdom and its surrounding nations, before your beloved Kristoff finds his way to the bottom of the North Sea!_

_I am, however, not without mercy. I understand that you traversed the entire north mountain range just to get to your sister after she ran away from her own kingdom, gosh you're both useless! Let's see if your heart is as big as you say it is. In your quaint little city, you're lives couldn't be any more easy going and perfect could they? Admit it! Yet, you live in a world full of war for the sake of war, so will you sacrifice love for the sake of love?_

_Seek me out and we'll see won't we? You'll have no mountain man with you this time._

_All the best,_

_Lord Cyril."_

I drop the letter and it seems to fall to the ground in slow motion. Someone has my Krissy. I don't understand! Why would they do this? Love for a love? What does that even mean? I can feel my heartbeat steadily increasing and the air seems to thicken around me. Now I am truly alone here. It's just me in this empty hole, surrounded by darkness. I feel myself falling through this hole of nothingness and being caught by Sven by his antlers. I see Elsa leaning over me, frantically screaming my name, but to me it is inaudible. I can't hear anything. Not without Kristoff. I think of him, such a big strong man in the world, probably all alone and terrified.

"Kristoff! KRISTOFF!"

I'm screaming his name in pain, but he's not there. He doesn't come running like he did on the frozen lake bed. Instead I'm alone, all alone. Even Elsa can't help me in this dark place I find myself in.

These last hopeless thoughts are what finally bring my consciousness to an end.

* * *

**Sorry it has taken so long to get this one up, as I mentioned before I have had a lot of college assignments to be getting on with.**

**I hope you have enjoyed this story so far, let me know in a review!**

**See you next time,**

**-Dan**


	8. The Meet-Cute

**The Meet-Cute**

**Welcome all to chapter 8! Before I go any further, quick bit of trivia for you. In the last chapter I reiterated quite a bit that Elsa looks just like her mum, Idun. This is actually true! If you look at both characters in the film, they are identical apart from the hair and the eye colour. This is because Walt Disney actually used the same character model for both Elsa and Idun and just swapped around the hair and iris colour!**

**Well I found this interesting anyway, let's get back to poor Krissy…**

* * *

Ah man, my head and my chest are on fire! The flavour of the saltwater still remnants in my mouth and sinuses; every inhale fills my chest with freezing cold and very moist air, almost like breathing through wet clothes! Wait- what's this on my head? Is this a knapsack or something? I can barely breathe as it is with the shape my lungs are in, this thing just makes it even harder and especially with how wet it is!

What happened anyway? All I can remember is being chased by an enormous wave through that valley, we go under, then somehow manage to find the surface again. Then I'm pretty sure someone found me and Sven before we- Sven! Oh no, what has happened to Sven? He was with me when we got out, but I don't remember, oh man if anything has happened to him…

I think it's safe to assume that the people at the inn responsible for the fire were also responsible for that wave. So there are at least two people that can control elements like Elsa can, and they are clearly the 'bad guys' here. But what do they want with me? I'm just an Ice Master; I'm of no use to any-

_They spoke about Anna! _That's why they have taken me; they must be using me to get to her, but why? How can anyone want to hurt her? This must be some kind of plot to get to the royals and Arendelle? Oh no what have I gotten myself into here?

I now use my other senses to take in all my surroundings as best as I can. It's cold, very cold. I can almost feel the waves of sheer frost resonating from the floor as it creeps up my back. Or that could be the wind? I am sure I am outside because I can feel the unmistakable mountain air slash against my flesh, which then makes me realise I am not wearing a shirt here. My arms are free, but I can't feel my legs! I can't move them at all! All in the space of a second I go from absolute terror, to quaint reassurance, as I reach to feel my legs, only to hit a mound of ice that seems to have swallowed my lower half, rendering movement there impossible- _for goodness sakes Kristoff your hands are free! Take off the bag _I think to myself. Wow, how did I miss that? I yank off the bag over my head, in slight embarrassment, and have to shield my eyes as they adjust to the sight that makes me gasp, sending another pulse of pain through my lungs.

My hunch was right in the fact that I am on a mountain. I'm literally frozen in a tomb of ice from the waist down on a snowy verge overlooking the ocean from a great height. So that's why I can still smell it! Seeing as my hips can't move I have to awkwardly rotate my body around to see what's behind me, but I can only make out that I am on a mountain shelf that spans off of the vertical side of it. I can look above and behind me to see that the mountain towers over me, it actually seems to be leaning over somewhat. Man I hope it's stable! This is nothing like the mountains around Arendelle; in fact I don't recognise these arrangements at all! The ocean I am overlooking is more of an enormous lake that is surrounded by a circle of a jagged, almost serrated mountain range, with a gap on the very far end that provides access to the ocean, I guess anyway, it's a little too far out to make out fully. Behind me I can just about see that there is a large ice wall that stretches up high into the face of the mountain with carvings of strange designs in it, is there some kind of door there as well?

This is ridiculous. My entire life I have been in command in the battle against ice, cracking it in half for transport and selling it on, and now it holds me in place, completely at the mercy of my captors. I will not stand for this. In my years as Ice deliverer, before Elsa made me Master of the stuff, I have perfected more than eighty different techniques for breaking different shapes of ice and snowy formations to cut them in certain ways. Of course the majority was with the use of tools, and I don't have that luxury here. That still leaves about thirty -odd ways with bare hands, but I have never done that because when the ice breaks, it falls apart in unpredictable shapes and it makes it very difficult to transport around. But that's the least of my worries right now, right now I don't care what it looks like, so I don't care how I smash this. I use my left hand and make a specific shape that involves having my middle finger's knuckle aimed directly into the main body of the ice, with my index and ring finger formed behind it for support. I then make a fist with my right hand and position my left in a point I decide is the most structurally unsound area. I raise my fist above my head and brace; this always hurts. With all the power my torso and arms can bring me I slam my fist down onto my left with incredible force that sends a sharp pain into my hand, but the ice hasn't budged! There's not even a small crack or an indent! I shake of my left and now try a similar method on the right side, but only to be meted with the same result. I then throw method out the window and start slamming the ice with both fists. The pounding I give actually reverberates around the shelf and mountain face, but still nothing.

Just then I hear a creak and a bump behind me, did I just open the door behind me? That would have been a good moment for me, but sadly it wasn't. I hear footsteps approach me, and a man with a slight English taint to his accent speaks:

"Yes, I thought you might try something like that when you awoke." He spoke with such authority in his voice.

"Who are you?" I say, displaying anger in mine, "Come on! Show yourself coward!"

"A coward he calls me?" the man now makes his way to my front, and I am sure this is the man that stood over Sven and I after our narrow escape in the valley, "I assure you that I am far from it."

I see my captor for the first time. I'm too angry to pick out specifics, but from what I can tell he is very muscular, very tall, and had peculiar spiky black hair that seemed to glow with a purple tint. This reminds me that he is no longer wearing the purple jacket he once wore; instead he is wearing a fine white shirt with golden buttons and coloured stripes running from top to bottom on one side. He is also wearing a large ring with a gem in the middle that's changing colour? That's new.

"Right, so that's not the reason you've encased me in this? You're too scared to fight me like a man!" Fury is getting the better of me now.

"That's for your own good friend," he said tapping the ice, "I assure you, you don't want to fight me."

"Oh I disagree," I say through gritted teeth, "Who are you?" I repeat myself with a bite.

"I am Lord Cyril of the High Islands, first of my name, Controller of the Elements, Commander of the Gremlin Empire &amp; Captain of the Iceblade Vessel, but you can call me Lord Cyril." Is this guy for real?

"I know exactly what I want to call you, and it's far from any lord." I am losing patience with this guy already, "Well I'd hate to burden you any further, so it'd be best if you let me go because I won't be telling you anything you want to know"

"I recommend you treat his lordship with more respect." A voice said behind me that I recognise, as it makes its way around to my front also.

"Yeah I wondered when I'd see you again Shamus, if that's even your real name."

"Shamus?" Cyril turns to him, "It's been a while since you've gone by that name hasn't it Shade?" he chuckled.

"It has my lord." Shade replied, but he had no emotion in his voice, this guy looks brainwashed.

Cyril leans back to me, "Believe me Kristoff, if you were of no use to me, and you found your way this close to me, you'd be dead already." Something in his words sang true, and it does scare me a little. Maybe aggression isn't the way here.

"So, Cyril, why am I here than?" I ask in a calmer voice.

"_Lord _Cyril" Shade corrects me with a strong tone.

"Fine, _Lord _Cyril." I can't help but pronounce 'lord' in the same, exaggerated way Shade did.

"Simple insurance friend, a bargaining chip for something I want. As long as they provide you'll be released back to go as you please."

"So do I at least have the right to know what that is?" I ask, becoming more and more curious with this man's intentions.

"Of course, you are playing a valuable role in this scenario aren't you?" He looks to me like he's expecting a reply?

"I don't really know to be honest…"

"Well you are my friend." He assures me as he takes a deep breath in, "I wish to expand my knowledge of these elements I currently control. As you are aware, I currently harness the power of Ice, Fire and the basics of water-"

"That, in the valley, was basic?"

"Don't interrupt his lordship again." Shade warned. He's really getting on my nerves.

"It was actually, yes. But I won't go into detail as to how powers work; Elsa would know what I mean."

_Elsa? _"Okaaay…" I take his word for it.

"But permanently residing in this climate is proving difficult for my friends here in the mountain." He does have a point, It is winter in Arendelle (the _real _winter), but it's much colder here, and the snow looks as though it has been here for a long time. "I would like a chat with Elsa to discuss removing the storm she has created, and allowed to batter its way through my kingdom."

"The storm?" I question, "She thawed that a long time ago though? This isn't her work!"

"Yes it is, the blizzard she apparently dispersed in what you call 'The Great Thaw' actually just got pushed out here, and I want it gone."

"If you're as powerful as you say, why can't you do it?" I ask, though I think I already know the answer.

"A very good question, you see as ice is her sole element she controls, her power is far greater than mine."

"So you can't really control ice that well then?" I tease, "Is that why you've taken me, because you're too weak to take on Elsa by yourself?" Cyril simply smiles at my statement, and holds an arm out to prevent Shade moving towards me in defence of his lord, or maybe owner is the right word for that animal…

"Calm Shade, calm." He turns back to me, "I wouldn't aggravate him; I can only restrain him for so long." I grunt at Shade who, again, remains completely motionless and blank of emotion.

"So," I return to Cyril, "you were saying about Elsa?"

"Yes I was," he began, "but in answer to your previous statement," he turns his back to me and steps further out to the edge. He then suddenly cloaks himself in a frosty mist and fires a huge beam of ice into the sky! When the beam hits what I assume is a cloud, a circle of light starts to span out from its contact, slicing through the blizzard and letting the sun shine through the gap, bringing me a temporary respite from the cold. "I have an extraordinary amount of control over ice."

"Okay point made, but why do you need Elsa if you can do that?" I shout over the sounds of his power.

In answer, he stops generating the beam and turns to me. The blizzard immediately re-establishes itself back to how it was, shutting out the sun again. "It is only temporary you see, I need to harness Elsa's power also to remove it completely."

"Harness her powers?" I repeat, "Why can't you just tell her the blizzards here and I'm sure she'd get rid of it?" though when she hears of his actions, I think she'd be a little less eager to help out now.

"Because as I said, her power alone still isn't enough to completely disperse the storm, it only pushed it somewhere else. When I absorb her power, I'll have more than enough of it to finally remove this weather."

"So why me? Why don't you just grab Elsa if it's her you need? Oh wait," I interject, "too powerful for you, now I get it."

"You're trying my patience boy." Cyril said with a bite. "Remember that thus far I have allowed you to keep your life. How difficult I allow it to become however, is a different matter entirely." He threatens.

"So I'm your bargaining chip against her? You want her to come to you? Because if so, I seriously doubt that will ever happen."

"You are correct, but mistaken at the same time. You see it's not Elsa I expect to come after you." he grinned.

These words struck me hard. All the fury that had subsided has now returned. "If you lay a finger on Anna I swear to you-"

"Bingo! You've clicked!" He interrupted, "Anna will come running to find you, and then I take her and use her against Elsa! Clever isn't it?" he smiles.

"You think Anna won't come prepared? If you think this storm is bad, you won't be able to handle the one she brings."

"Oh please, you overestimate your pathetic princess; she is a child that only has her own selfish interests at heart. If I had my way, she'd be cast to the bottom of the North Sea where she can't poison anyone else's lives."

"YOU MONSTER!" I scream out in fury and lose control, swinging out with my right fist and slamming it into his face, sending him flying back and almost over the edge. So close! Shade reacts immediately and grabs both arms and twists them behind my back, sending searing pain through my shoulders.

"Shall I take his arm my lord?" Shade asks.

Cyril gets back to his feet and recomposes himself, "No, I made a promise to someone that I'd keep him in one piece," he spits at me, but then a sinister grin creeps onto his face "but I have made no promises about Anna."

Oh no, Anna! What have I done? I've just put her life in danger in an instance. We always usually have an answer for any problems we faced, usually down to sheer determination on her part, but not here. We are both at the complete mercy of the sorcerer I just punched in the face. At that point Cyril waves his arms and two clouds of frost appear on either side of me. When they pass, they leave behind two pillars of solid ice with Iron loop shackles on top appear either side of me. Shade then emerges with two thick chains and latches them to my wrists on one end, then toe other he threads through the top of the pillars, which are about waist height. He pulls them tight so My arms are held out parallel to the floor and Cyril casts two balls of ice that freeze the chains in place, keeping me in this stance. I don't struggle, not anymore, there's no point. Any other problems I cause will just backlash to Anna.

"This is for your own good," Cyril sneers as he points to the area on the floor where the shelf meets the mountain face, "your pounding on my ice has tested it's integrity. We wouldn't want you to fall now would we?" I notice that there is a small crack starting to develop where this joint margin is.

I think of her now, her warm smile as she gleams towards me, like she always used to do whenever we were together. I wonder if she even knows what's happened, and even if she would come after me. I only said that she would to keep Cyril happy, but I hope she doesn't. This man means business, more dangerous than Hans ever was because he doesn't need to hide anything, whereas Hans had to create an entire alter ego to get close to Anna. I just hope that Elsa is ready for whatever she may have to do to keep her sister safe. Just then I remember Sven! My poor old buddy, what has happened to him?

"Where's Sven?" I shout out to them as they leave.

"Who?" Cyril asks in a rather taken aback way.

"Sven, the reindeer? What did you do to him?"

"What did I do to him?" He repeated, "What do you think I did? I set him free out into the wild before we left for here! You think I'm some kind of monstrous villain? He's an innocent animal and I am not a malicious man," he turns to the door behind me, "unless provoked." He retorts.

I hear the door close behind me, and I'm brought back to reality, where the freezing cold temperature of the salty sea air is having its brutal way with my body. I am sore all over, and the momentary warmth that my thought of Anna had brought to me is proving very ineffective to the cold here, and now I have been robbed of the ability to quickly rubbing my hands across my chest and arms to cause heat. Boy what I wouldn't do just to have a cup of cocoa with my Princess right now, gosh I hope Elsa stops her from coming out to find me...

Her beautiful face is the last thing I see before, yet again, I pass out from the cold and exhaustion.

* * *

I wake up to the sound of every single heartbeat ramming its way through this lump on the back of my head; I must have smacked it as I fell. I wake up in my bed, Kai and Gerda are sat on the edge waiting for me to stir, though they haven't het noticed I'm awake. Elsa is by the door talking to someone, he's taller than her, wearing the Arendelle guard uniform but with a red brassard over his shoulder, bearing the coat of arms; he's the captain of the guard. I wince in pain as I gently lift myself to an upright position, raising my heavy head.

"Oh sweetie, you're awake!" Gerda starts', making Elsa switch her attention to me and runs over, locking her arms around me, completely cutting off whatever that guy was trying to say.

"Oh Anna," she sobs into my shoulder, "I'm so sorry for this, it's all my fault! I'm so sorry!"

"Elsa it's not your fault, it's okay" I say to her, it would have been more convincing if I hadn't been sobbing also. Gerda scoots closer and puts her arm over my shoulders as Kai hands me a mug of hot cocoa.

"We're doing everything we can to find him Anna" Kai said, "We've scouts all over trying to find information."

"What was with that note though? He took Kristoff because I'm not a good enough princess? Who would say that?"

"I don't know, but it can't be anyone local because they all know of how much of a warm, loving person you are. No one would dream of doing this to you of all people." Kai summarized.

My mind is racing. I keep going over the last line of the letter: 'love for the sake of love'? What does that mean? And how does this guy know about Kristoff and I? Only people in the city can really know about us, and all of Arendelle's people are so nice to us, it couldn't be!

"What about that Matt guy?" Elsa asks, releasing her grip from me, "Didn't he know anything?"

"Matt talks of a sorcerer that ambushed Kristoff in his room your majesties" the captain started, "he thought something was odd when they all crowded around his room and he heard the door handle moving. When he asked if everything was okay, the man in purple shot a fireball out of his wrist! The whole place went up in flames. Luckily Matt and all the residents there escaped with the innkeeper through a back entrance. That's where he saw Sven running franticly about."

"Oh my- this is horrible! Why would someone want Kristoff? He's done nothing to hurt anyone!"

"We don't know sweetie. That's what we're trying to find out." Gerda said, still with her arm over my shoulders.

"Who even is this 'Lord Cyril'? Is he on record? Don't we have the residences of all Lords on file?" I desperately ask.

"That's the thing, his name doesn't come up anywhere, so we have no way of locating him." Elsa explains.

"It doesn't make any sense. He kidnaps Krissy, to teach me a lesson? I haven't done anything to hurt anyone! Wait-" a horrifying thought creeps into my head, "Do you think it's him? Do you think Hans want's revenge?"

"No way" Elsa said, "No way could he get out of that ship. He'll be in some Southern Isle's prison right now, where he should be."

"What about his brothers? Could they want revenge because his scheme's failed?" The captain asks.

"Not them either," answers Elsa, "I have been swapping letters with the second-eldest Andrew. They aren't like Hans, they're absolutely disgusted with his actions, and relentlessly apologise on his behalf. They're actually really nice! And besides, none of them are called Cyril"

I decide to give in to temptation and allow myself to take a sip of the warm cocoa that Kai had made for me. Its soothing warmth does little to calm my upset towards this revelation that someone has my Krissy, but it does bring me to my senses a little more. I try to figure out who could be behind this, when the guard captain grunts as he is pushed aside by a small snowman running at speed to my bed side. "Anna! Are you okay? I heard there was a commotion in the square so I came running! Then I saw Sven in the royal stables! You know Kristoff's back already? But I couldn't find him anywhere so I went asking around and people said you fainted?"

"I'm okay Olaf," I smile, "but no, Krissy's not back yet."

"Well where is he? If Sven is here then he will be too Anna! Maybe he's playing hide and seek again! I'll go hide too!"

"No he's not playing little guy." I say before he turns and bolts out of the room.

"What?" he looks heartbroken, "well where is he?"

"We think he might be in trouble Olaf." Elsa explains, "Someone has taken him and they left this with Sven." She hands him the note.

But then something else happens, as he takes hold of the note it starts to react to his snowy flurry above his head. The snow falling on the note instantly melts into it, but only in certain places. Elsa leans in and starts to notice something.

"Quick Olaf, put it on the floor!"

"Okay!" he says, dropping it like fire.

Elsa then holds her hand over it, I also notice that the crystal around her neck is glowing a little more than usual. Elsa then begins to pour snow onto the note in a pile, which sure enough quickly melts into it, but instead of the note falling apart from all the moisture, the damp and dry areas seem to align like something I recognise. Elsa seems to know it also, as she hurries out of the room and down the hall.

"Urrmmm… What just happened?" Olaf asks, scratching his head, causing little snowflakes to fall.

"I think it was a little bit of Idun's wisdom!" Gerda says with a smile.

"Who's Idun?" Olaf asks, but Elsa returns before we can answer with a book in her hand, and throws it open onto the bed. She then frantically flicks through some pages until she finds the one she'd been looking for.

"Aha! I knew I'd seen this marking before!" She says excitedly.

"Elsa?" I ask, desperate for her to enlighten me. In response, she holds up the page with the same marking as that left on the damp paper.

"This is a form of paper made from the Whispering trees from the woods around The High Isles."

"Magic paper?" I summarise, "What do you mean magic?" I can't believe all this stuff even exists!

"It's paper that can be used for other stuff as well as just writing on. Some kings and queens often take some from a wizard to write letters to other countries. The paper can change the words and completely translate it into a different language!" This must be something she studied in those books of hers, and I can tell she's enjoying knowing all of this.

"Wow, that's really clever! How did you know all this Elsa?" Olaf asks

"I read about it in one of the books Mother bought me," she takes the note and begins looking it all over, "could it be?" she says to herself.

"Elsa c'mon, not all of us here are majored bookworms, what do you see?" I say, trying to hurry her on a bit.

"I think it may have a secret map on it! I don't know how, it just feels like there is something else here."

"I know how!" Gerda says excitedly as she points to Elsa's crystal pendant, which is glowing a lot brighter now.

"Can you get it to like, I don't know, show itself?" I eagerly prod.

"I can't no. We need a sorcerer to do it, someone who has studied the art of magic for a long time."

"Oh sweetie the last wizard around Arendelle died a long time ago!" Gerda exclaims.

"I don't know of any witches or wizards around here either," Kai said, "my brother in the Scottish Highlands, but she only really specialised in transfiguration. Besides Scotland is many a seas away and full of those bear creatures!" I've read about those in books, creatures with the strength of ten men and tower as tall as trees.

"We haven't got time to go all the way there! We need one closer!" Elsa says.

"What about Pappie?"

Everyone turns to the little snowman whose voice made that last remark.

"Who?" Gerda queries.

"Pappie? Kristoff's troll grandpa, he's magical isn't he?"

Everyone looks around confused but I know who he means, "Elsa! The troll family that live in the forest! They must know something about this!"

"Of course! It was he that Mother and Father sought out about my… problem."

"I'll arrange transport immediately and gather a patrol party your majesty." Says the guard captain, but Elsa holds out a dismissive hand.

"Oh no there's no need for that, it's only a short ride into the forest and a patrol party would slow me down." _Me?_

I straight away get out of bed and hand Kai the empty mug I had just finished, "You seriously think I'm just gonna sit here and let you go by yourself?" getting up this quickly gives me a bit of a head rush.

She held up a hand as though to say something in defence, but after much thought she simply sighs out, "No…"

"Can I come too?" Olaf asks.

Elsa takes to one knee, "I need you to watch over the people of Arendelle while I'm gone little guy!" she says sweetly.

"Aww come on I wanna go see the troll people too! I miss them!"

"Sorry Olaf," I say in remorse, "we won't be gone for very long!"

I grab my winter dress that I bought from Wandering Oaken's trading post, where I first met Kristoff. I slip on the boots as well and turn to Elsa, "C'mon then, let's go!"

"Could we have a little privacy guys please?" she says to everyone else, and they all turn and leave the room, apart from Olaf who just stands with a lost smile.

"You too little man! I'll catch up with you later!" I reassured him.

"Oh, okay." He replies and slowly waddles out the door, clicking it behind him.

"Aww, I hate letting him down like this-"

"Anna I don't want you to come with me."

"What?! Why not?" I genuinely feel hurt at this.

"Look, I've put you through enough already, by taking you with me I'm just putting you at risk again, same as last time!" she walks over and holds my elbows in a kind of half-hug, "I don't want any reason to feel like I could lose you, not now that I have you back."

"Elsa," I say, holding my sister in a similar fashion, "Nothing is going to happen like that, we're just going to go for a short horse ride through the forest paths, like we always wanted to do when we were kids! You remember? We could never climb off the horses because we always got scared of the heights?"

"Yeah, I do, but that was you! I grew tall first!"

"Okay fine it was just me, but at least now we can do that now!"

"I don't know, I still think it's safer for you to stay here, at least that way you can be in Arendelle." She then starts to head to the door, "Why don't you go find Olaf and keep each other company? I think he'd really like that-

"ELSA THERE IS NO WAY I'M STAYING INSIDE WHEN WE CAN FINALLY BE FREE OUT THERE TOGETHER!" these words explode out of me as Elsa spins around in shock. I'm not too sure when it happened, but I find myself pointing out the window, and off into the lush green. I think my words have weighed heavy on her as she slowly removes her hand from the door, leaving it closed and keeping us together, locked in the tense atmosphere.

"Anna!" Elsa exclaims with a mild frown on her face, but I don't let her get a word in. My voice takes a fast, irritated tone.

"Elsa I have spent most of my life living in a huge palace with a sister that I loved so much, but could never even speak to, and I didn't know why-"

"Anna,"

"NO! I'm not finished!" I raise my voice now, she needs to understand what has been going through my mind for the past decade or so, and she needs to know now! "I have all these memories of us playing together, and laughing and singing and dancing, playing in the snow together, only to be slammed back into this reality, where my 'loving' sister won't even TALK to me? We had dinner at different times, we haven't rode our bikes together since our Mother bought them, we could NEVER go and play in the snow ever again and we never even… well… we never did ANYTHING I wanted us to do! I have been sat outside your door for years and years trying to get you to even talk to me; you remember all the times Kai used to rush into your room for no reason? That's because I thought you were dead! There was never any sound from your room, not ever, and I even forgot what your voice even sounded like. And then when mother and father died," I swallow and keep it in, "I had no one! No family I could turn to! Kai and Gerda were always there, but I wanted YOU Elsa, I wanted my own sister to open the door and let me in just once, and now we have a chance! I finally have my sister back in my life, and the last few days have been so nice, but I'm not about to let that change now. We're both going to go to the trolls whether you like it or not, and I promise you that I will never, EVER, let you slam the door in my face again!"

It takes a minute or so of nothing but the sound of the raindrops on the window for my words to sink in. I just want her to feel the cocktail of emotions that I have had to deal with for the majority of my life! As I look into her deep blue eyes, I feel my heart sink. I have never felt the need to raise my voice at anyone, yet I've just shouted at my own sister that I am desperate to never let go again. I see her eyes are now as watery as the window outside; I have brought tears to my own sister's eyes. What kind of sister does that make me?

"Elsa I'm sor-" but she interrupts me by grabbing and pulling me into a tight embrace.

"Oh Anna," she says through sobs and sniffs, "I've been so selfish, I've always obsessed over making sure that you stay inside to be safe, but I've not once ever seen it from your point of view. I've been shutting you out for so long!" She pulls away now, her eyes are very bloodshot, and my shoulder is soaked, "I promise I will never make you feel like you've been shut out ever again, there'll never be another wall between us ever again, I swear it."

"You mean it, never again!?" I had never truly gotten over the pain that I felt when her bed and cabinet was moved out of my room and into her own.

"Never. Well, too an extent. I won't be sharing a room with you and Kristoff if you don't mind" she grinned.

"I think that's reasonable," I smile back, "Now how about we go save my Krissy, together?"

"Of course," Elsa said back, returning her look to a more serious one, "Let me just get some things together and we'll head off. Can you go shout the captain to prepare our horses?"

"Absolutely!" as heartbroken as I am that something this terrible has happened to my Krissy, I am looking forward to this short trip out with Elsa so much, mainly because it is something we had fascinated about when we were kids; jumping on our horses and riding away into the forest, albeit under different circumstances.

I open the door to see two of two of the palace guards right outside the door, both looking rather concerned.

"Is everything okay your majesty? We heard shouting?" one asks.

"Yes, sorry. Everything is okay now," well, considering… "Could you prepare our two horses for travel into the forest?"

"Right away your majesty" the both answer at the same time and head down the hall. _Aww cute!_

I turn and head back into my room to find Elsa with her back to me, reading through the note 'Cyril' left. She is scanning over one line over and over, like she's trying to make sense of it.

"What are you thinking?" I ask.

"It just doesn't make any sense, he says he's taking Kristoff to remove your main distraction, yet then he invites you to go look for him with no directions? Why would he do that?" I notice the crystal is glowing faintly again.

"I'm not sure… You're right that doesn't make any sense at all? It's like he's enticing me out to him."

"But why? Why kidnap the man of the princess, and then ask you to go get him? And this line, 'love for the sake of love'? What does he mean by that?"

"'Sacrifice love for the sake of love'," I repeat again in hope that it would suddenly make sense, but it doesn't, "Love for love…"

"Trade love for love?" Elsa says.

"Yeah that sounds about right." I respond.

"Oh no…"

"Elsa? What's wrong?" With one hand on the note, she raises the other to her head in disbelief.

"Trade love for love! Anna this is a ransom demand!"

"What!? He wants me to love him, and then he'll let Kristoff free? That's not how love works, I know that much!"

"You're being too bland about it," that crystal is almost shimmering now, "think Anna, who are the two people in your life you love the most? You said it yourself!"

"Oh no…. no no no no no no!" I start sobbing know at the realisation of what she's saying.

"That's why he had taken Kristoff, that's why he enticed you to track him down, it's nothing to do with you Anna, it never has. It's me."

"Oh Elsa…" My mouth is wide open in shock.

Elsa drops the note and it slowly see-saws through the air and rests on her foot.

"He wants to trade Kristoff for me."

* * *

**Finally, Anna got to tell her sister exactly what it has bee like for her all these years! Bet she feels 10x times lighter now!**

**While I think about it, what would you guys think if I threw out the idea of making the story slightly 'interactive' to you? There are some big events coming up that I want to hear what you want to happen in the story, so if the opportunity arises, would you like me to get you guys to make the decisions?**

**For example, right now Kristoff is being held in Cyril's lair, and no doubt soon he will meet Hans again, for the first time since he tried to kill the love of his life. **

**My question to you is: How would YOU what their first encounter to go, bearing in mind that Kristoff will still be in his restrains, and how would you imagine Hans would converse with Kristoff given the circumstances?**

**Give it some thought, and let me know what YOU want to happen in a review or a PM!**

**See you in chapter 9!**

**-Dan**


	9. The Guardian and the Crystals

**The Guardian and the Crystals**

It has taken all but one hour for Anna and me to prepare for the trip to the Valley of the Living Rock. It's not that it's a long trip as such; it's just not a very exciting one. One long winding road through the middle of the mountain range that passes through a small geyser field and it's just off of there. We haven't left yet though, and in truth it's because I don't want to.

This 'Cyril' character seems to be offering Kristoff to Anna in exchange for me. After all that I've done to her, there is no doubt that I will give myself in when asked. But I am scared. Not scared of what will happen to me, well I am a little bit. Oh who am I kidding; I'm terrified! I haven't felt this powerless since I was staring into Anna's frozen eyes on the fjord, and to me this is no different: I have ruined her life all over again in just another way. Obviously by letting myself go mad up in the North Mountain I had attracted this man's attention, and he has to get what he wants this time, it's the only way I can be sure that Anna will be safe, whatever the cost.

I am snapped back into reality by a delicate knock on my door- oh no! It's closed again! I leap off of my bed and run to the door, I promised her! I promised it would never be closed again and already I have broken it! After nearly falling over, and knocking over a lampshade, I grab the door handle and throw it open, to find Olaf staring at me with concern.

"Umm, is everything okay?" he asked looking at the fallen lampshade, "Kai asked me to ask you when you were going. So… When are ya going Elsa? Kai wants to know!"

His silliness brings a small grin to my face, "I'll be leaving soon." I think for a moment, "Hey Olaf, can I ask you something?" I ask, beckoning him inside.

"Mkay!" he keenly replies as he skips into my room. I close the door behind him, hesitating at its concealment, but I decide to keep it closed just this once while we talk. Olaf plops himself on the floor a little too close to the fire for my liking, and looks expectantly with his usual goofy smile. Little gestures that he does like that warm me inside a little.

"Olaf, can you keep this between us? I don't want Anna, or anyone for that matter, to find out."

"Ooooh a secret!" he playfully salutes me, "don't worry my queen, your secret is safe with me!"

"At ease soldier," I say gently as he lowers his twiggy arm, "right, here it goes." I take a deep breath in, "Olaf I… I don't think I'll be coming back from this trip with Anna."

"Oh, you- oh! I get it, you wanna stay a little bit with the trolls? They're so much fun! Just be careful around the little ones, they might seem lighter but they're really not!"

Let's try this again… "Olaf, I don't think I'll be coming back at all."

His smile quickly fades away and is replaced with a look of sadness, "What? Why? I don't understand?"

It breaks my heart to see him like this, "The only way that the man that did this will release Kristoff back to Anna is a trade; Kristoff for me. It's the only way that Anna and Kristoff can be back together again and come home. I have to stay."

"So, you're never coming back? I'll never see you again?" I can hear the pain in his voice.

"I don't think so Olaf, no." I start tearing up, and the lump in my throat I've become so familiar with has returned, "I'm so sorry Olaf, *sniff* but it's the only way around this."

"No, NO!" he stands now, "There has to be another way! You could take the entire city guard! He would be no match for all of them at once! Use your powers! You could easily beat anyone with them!" he desperately throws all of these ideas at me, but I know they won't work.

"If he sees me approach with a patrol he could harm Kristoff, and I think he has powers too, I can't risk it." This just upsets him even more now.

"No! No no no no no!" he puts his head in his hands, "this can't be happening! We're all finally together again and now we're breaking apart! It's not fair!" he is crying so much now.

"I'm so sorry little guy," I collapse to the floor and bring him into a long, warm embrace, subtly re-freezing him where he melts to my touch and the presence of the fire, "I'm so, so sorry Olaf. Believe me if there was another way I would do it in a heartbeat." I pull away from him and look him in the eyes, those big, always loving eyes that I have filled with tears of absolute sorrow. I seem to have that effect on people nowadays…

"So- *sniff* so this is goodbye then?" he stammers, "That's why you invited me in? This is the last time I'll ever see you again?" All are questions that I wished I would never have to answer with yes, but I have to be strong else I'll never survive this trip.

"Yeah little guy, it is." I raise my hand to his face and he closes his eyes and gently leans his face into it. Olaf is the closest thing I knew I would ever have to a child, which makes this even harder. He sees me as his mother, and I've just told him that this is goodbye forever. I actually feel evil now.

"No come on, brave face!" I say with a fake smile, though I know he sees right through it, but he tries to put a smile on as well. "It's not like you'll ever be alone! Anna and Kristoff will be here, remember? They'll look after you!"

"But what about you? I want you!" he begs.

"I know you want me here sweetie, I want to be here too, but I owe Anna this much, I can't let her down."

"Okay… Can I at least see you off?" he asks.

"Of course you can sweetie, but you must be brave and not cry. Otherwise others might wonder if there's something's up."

"I don't know if I can Elsa, what if the guard sees me crying? I'll have to tell them won't I? I can't lie to them!"

"If you do that the guards will follow us. That would put Kristoff in danger. I can't tell anyone about this, and neither can you."

"But do you even know where you'll be going? It might be dangerous!" This I have no doubt.

"Look Olaf, technically I'm not allowed to leave Arendelle or its surrounding areas without a guard accompaniment. I can't risk this. We're going to the Valley of the Living Rock to consult the trolls there, and then…" I'm not even sure this is a good idea… "…and then we'll be going straight to wherever it is we need to go. If we leave the area around Arendelle, which I'm sure we will, then the guard legally have to follow, risking Kristoff's life."

"So if anyone asks…"

"…we are just going to the trolls, nowhere else." I tear up as I use foresight to plan the future to set his mind at ease a little, "When Anna and Kristoff return without me, normal procedure will follow; Anna will become Queen and Kristoff will become King of Arendelle. Life goes on for everyone."

"Everyone except you!"

"Olaf, that's enough," this is the hardest conversation I have ever had to have, "please, please just try to accept this, and everything will be just fine." I'm actually regretting ever telling him any of this.

"Okay… For Anna and Kristoff?"

"For Anna and Kristoff."

I hug him one last time before we walk to the door and I open it for him. "Take care Olaf."

"Elsa?" he turns to me.

"Yeah sweetie?"

"I love you."

Those words hit me like a stake through my heart.

"I love you too. Don't you ever forget it." I command.

He playfully salutes again, "Yes my queen" he lowers his hand and smiles at me one last time before turning and slowly waddling down the corridor, not once looking back. I just lean against the wall and watch him walk around the corner one last time before I turn back into my bedroom, leaving the door open. Olaf is the only one that will know my intentions for this trip; if Anna found out, it would destroy her. I have a feeling it will anyway, but at least when she finds out she'll have Kristoff back.

I wipe my eyes and decide to go through my things I am bringing with me: A large bag with survival supplies ranging from food that can be eaten cold, to a strange filter that Gerda had made for me that lets us drink from almost any water source. I also have a large purse with a big supply of coins and gemstones for any expenses. I feel I may have to cash in on my position as queen a few times this trip before we leave the outskirts of Arendelle's lands, as my royalty will do us no good outside there. I'm also packing the journal that Gerda had found in the box. I think it's my father's but I haven't opened it yet. Amongst other necessities like a few small maps, clothes and hats, that's it. I won't be bringing my crown as I want to only bring those that are necessary; I don't want to tire out our horses too much.

Just then Anna comes into my room with an enormous suitcase bulging at the seams. I hurry over as she is struggling with this a lot.

"What- *grunt* have you packed in here?!" I exclaim.

"Just the basic stuff," we slam the case onto the bed and it almost bounces back off! "Breakfasts, lunches, dinners, fire starter kits, winter dresses, sailing dresses, summer dresses, spare clothes for Kristoff, spare food for Kristoff, hats for all of us because it'll probably be freezing you know, some books for the journey, some coins, a tiara Kristoff once bought me, sun lotion, after sun lotion, travel teapot, that weird mouthwash stuff we use every morning, small pillows, blankets…" she pauses scanning her case, "Oh, and these mittens and a survival guide."

"Ummm, don't you think that's a bit, you know, excessive?"

"Yes absolutely! That's why I've brought it in here for us to go through together," she takes out two dresses and holds them up against herself and looks at me, "When we save Kristoff which dress do you think I should wear when he sees me?"

"Green one on the left, definitely." I say quickly. "But before we do that," deep breath… "I need to talk to you about something."

"Okay well, can we talk and sort at the same time, I wanna leave as soon as possible." I keep forgetting that she no doubt wants to get going to Kristoff.

"Of course."

We start throwing everything in the case out onto the bed and the floor and sprawl some of it out across the floor, just how much stuff did she get in here?

"Here's the thing Anna," I start, "When we get to the Valley, Kristoff's Grandpappie will no doubt decipher the map there and then for us- no leave the purple ones here- and I have a feeling that it will lead to somewhere far away from any of Arendelle's territories."

"Okay, so what should we do then?"

"When we find out where we're going, we leave for it there and then."

Anna hears this and stops searching for a missing green sock for a moment, "You don't want to come back here first?"

"No." I say, handing her the sock I had just thrown on the floor, "If we come back here then Kai, Gerda and the guard captain will now doubt want to know where it is we're going."

"Can't we tell them?" she asks, interfolding two mittens into themselves.

"If we do that, and it turns out it's outside Arendelle, we'll need to go it alone. We can't risk the guards coming too."

"So just tell them you want it to be just the two of us?"

"That's the thing Anna," I start looking through the food she has packed, "when we are outside of Arendelle we won't have any royal jurisdiction, so it's a legal requirement to have a guard accompaniment escort us all the way, especially as it's both the only queen and the only princess of Arendelle."

She ponders on my last remark, "So you don't want a guard accompaniment to come with us?"

"No. If we get to wherever Cyril is hiding and he sees the guards, he could hurt Kristoff, I'm not about to let that happen."

"Oh no, yeah you're right we don't want that." She slumps to the bed in thought and her eyes start to tear up, and I know exactly where her mind is right now.

"Anna," I sit next to her and put an arm over her shoulders, "This guy want's me, that much is obvious. I don't know why exactly, but he really wants me, and he's going through a great deal to get to me."

She wipes her eyes a little, "So, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that now he has Kristoff, do you really think he'd harm him and risk us not showing up for the trade off? I promise you that he might not be living the life of luxury right now, but Krissy is in no danger."

She sniffs and wipes her eyes again, before giving me a gentle, playful nudge in the ribs, "Only I can call him that." She grins a little, which brings some relief to me.

"Now come on, let's finish this, or we'll never get going!"

"That's true!" she says as she jumps up, eager as ever again.

I decide to carry on with my 'mission brief', "so as I was saying, we leave Arendelle alone, and we go under the radar." I read that in a book once, and I really have been looking for an excuse to say it, seemed a good enough time as ever!

"Under the radar? So, like ninjas?"

"Kind of. Just really subtle and low profile. If the guard captain finds out that we're missing he'll send out patrols everywhere, even outside of Arendelle's territories. We must make sure we-"

I'm interrupted by the towering presence of the guard captain as he stands in the doorway, casting a shadow over both the conversation, and the room as a whole. He is enormous, very muscular and at least six foot eight or nine I think. He slowly waltzes into the room with his hands behind his back and his head held high. He is wearing the usual attire of a royal guard, black boots and trousers, but his long overcoat, usually grey and green, is a dashing red with golden tassels and trimmings. He also wears a black helmet with a strange needle atop it, I've always wondered what that was for.

"Forgive me your majesties, but I couldn't help but overhear."

"Oh. You are forgiven!" Anna says with a nervous smile, but her tone quickly sulks, "How much did you hear, exactly?"

"Enough, my princess." His words make my heart sink, our entire plan is ruined!

"No no NO!" I hold my head in my hands, "You've gotta let us go it alone!" I say to his face now, and I'm shocked at my own lapse of stature, "If you don't, then Kristoff could get into serious trouble! I know it's wrong, but it's the only way!"

Anna jumps up now, "He could be killed just for the sake of a little bit of safety! It's not worth it, we need to go alone! You can't make us have a guard escort, you just can't!"

"I don't plan to, your highness…"

"You need to try and make some kind o- wait, what?" Anna cuts short.

"I don't intend to send a battalion to escorts you."

This really shocks me, "You, you're not? But I thought that was the law."

"It is, and as guard captain it is my job to enforce the laws of men in any way I see fit."

Anna scowls in confusion now, "so you ARE going to make us go with the escort?"

"No, I'm not."

This is all really confusing now, "So what are you going to do then?" I ask.

He clicks my door shut, removes his helmet, revealing short but wavy blonde hair, and turns to us both, "I am going to let you both go by yourselves."

It takes a minute for all this to sink in, "You are?" Anna asks.

"I am. May I?" he gestures to the chair at the end of my bed.

"Oh, of course!" I say as Anna and I hurry to the chair and carry it to where we were both sitting. It's actually quite heavy, and I don't know why we are taking it to him, he's more than capable of carrying it himself. I think it's my way of a kind of peace offering as he is essentially going to break several laws for us.

"Well thank you!" he gleefully says as he takes a seat, "Now, I overheard the majority of your plan, and I feel it is in Kristoff's best interests that I allow you to go alone as having a patrol, as you rightly said Elsa, would cause more trouble than good."

"Wow, I can't believe you are agreeing with us!" Anna said cheerfully.

"Neither can I your highness," he says with a quiet tone, "If anyone were to find out of my actions, I could be arrested for countless counts of treason; Knowingly allowing the Royal bloodline to come to harm; failure to enforce protective laws and through doing so allow harm to befell, blah blah blah, the list is as long as my arm!" he holds out his arm to aid the metaphor, to be fair it is quite long.

"Thank you sir," hearing this makes me realise the risk he is putting himself in "I really do appreciate what you're doing for us, and I won't forget it."

"Actually in this scenario I'd rather you did," He said jokingly, causing Anna and I to nervously giggle, "and you can call me Sebastian your majesties."

"Oh, okay. Sebastian it is then!" Anna calls out from behind me, I turn to see she has already gotten back to un-packing and re-packing her stuff.

"Now my queen," he says in a hush tone to me, I turn my gaze to him now, "I do have something that I would like to input into this 'run away' plot of yours.

"Of course, what is it? Oh, and if we're going by names, you can call me Elsa!" I smile.

"I'm afraid I can't your majesty."

"Oh, okay then." I giggle it off; this man takes his job very seriously, well sort of…

"Now to the matter at hand, I will not make a battalion go with you, but I think it would be wise if I accompanied you along the way myself for protection."

I consider this option; it doesn't seem like a bad idea. It would only be for our protection and I'm sure that Cyril wouldn't feel threatened by the three of us. "That does seem wise Sebastian, but please understand me when I say that I would like to consult with Anna for this." I say gesturing behind me to the strawberry-blonde frantically searching for the green hat.

"Absolutely your majesty, take all the time you need."

"Thank you." I say as I hurry over to Anna.

"Where is it, where is it?" she says to herself under her breath.

"Um, Anna?" I say, tapping my temple and referring to the green hat she is currently wearing.

"Huh? Wha- oh! There it is! Oh gee that's awkward… Thanks Elsa."

"You make me laugh sometimes!" I giggle to her, "Now Sebastian has just made a very good point about our trip-"

"He's cute isn't he?" she blurts out, to my shock.

"What?"

"Don't you think he's cute?" She asks again. I can't see this conversation ending without an answer from me now.

"He is kind of, yeah." I have noticed this; he is rather charming with his wavy hair and his build, he is very muscular! "Why?"

"Don't you like him?" she asks, not taking her big blue eyes off of me as she continues to pack.

"Anna!" This is very straight up from her!

"What? C'mon Elsa, you need someone! A great queen needs her King! I have my Krissy so why can't you have someone?"

I glance back to Sebastian, who is scanning my bookshelf for titles he might recognise. Convinced he's out of earshot, I turn back to my sister, who has somehow managed to slip right in front of my face, waiting for my answer. "Weeeeeeeeeeell?" she's so pushy!

"Anna I don't think we should be talking about this right now," I lower my tone, "I don't think this is the sort of thing that sisters talk about when the 'subject'" I nod over to Sebastian, "is in the same room!"

"Oh fine, you're no fun!" she teases, "So what did dream boy say?" she says, returning to her case.

I explain to her what he suggested about coming with us, and that I think it's a good idea. Before she bites my head off, I also clarify how I feel about Cyril not minding this and that, if it came down to it, he could always make himself scarce when we get to wherever we are going. It would purely be for our benefit and Kristoff wouldn't be in any danger. Eventually, she agrees and continues packing, so I go back to Sebastian with the news.

"She's happy with it, she also says thank you for helping us."

"_Yesh,_ _fank yooou Sebastian!" _she tries to say behind me, with what I can only imagine is some form of unnecessary clothing in her mouth.

"See?" I smile and nod her way.

"I do yes." He smiled sweetly, "but back to our previous conversation, I accompanying you will mean that my Senior Officer, Gregor will step in as captain of the Guard in my absence."

"Of course yes, will he be okay?" I ask, concerned for this Gregor.

"Oh he'll cope very well I assure you, but that's just the problem, he will be alerted once I tell him I'm leaving with you for a while."

"What will you tell him?"

"I'll say that you requested my accompaniment to the Valley personally. Once however we leave Arendelle, there's nothing I can do. He'll become concered with our disappearance. Once he finds out that we haven't returned, he'll send word out to all the guard posts across Europe."

"Oh no…" I say. "Do you think this is a good idea Sebastian?"

"I don't like it your majesty, but I believe it is necessary given the circumstances."

This is very scary now. I'm glad that Sebastian overheard us now as he has enlightened me to the real threat out there: being found by our own guards.

"What would happen if we're caught?"

"Well," he started, "I'd be held for treason, found guilty and executed, your positions as Queen and Princess would most likely be appealed against by the other rulers of Europe, and as for Kristoff…"

I see where he is going with this, "But it's all we can do right?"

"Given the circumstances, your majesty."

I decide that this is the answer I need. "I understand. We're willing to take these risks if you are Sebastian?"

"I am your majesty."

"Okay, good." I sigh with slight relief, "So what's the plan?"

He doesn't hesitate, "We travel straight from here to the Valley of the living rock, find out where it is we need to go, and go straight there, like you said. What you were saying about keeping a low profile will be our only real weapon, and we just need to hope that people don't start to recognise you on our travels."

"Would they? I mean outside of Arendelle? They wouldn't normally know us would they?"

"Usually no, they will definitely be aware that the Queen of Arendelle wields the power of snow and ice however, so we need to keep that at a minimum. How are you getting on with controlling your talents your majesty?"

I look over my shoulder to my sweet, beloved and finally free sister, still deciding over which cloths to bring with her, "Not a problem anymore." I say confidently with a smile.

"That's good, one less problem to worry about. I'd recommend then that we avoid any form of contact with you two and the public, just as a precaution. We'll move from town to town staying in hostels, and camp out if we have to."

"Camp out?" I repeat with slight concern. Anna had always loved camping out in our tents, but we'd often do it outside with Father, or just in the main hall downstairs!

"Don't worry; I am very well equipped should it come to that. Food and warmth will not be a problem."

"Okay. I have to admit Sebastian, I'm glad you stepped in when you did." It's true, I didn't realise how ill-equipped we were for such a journey.

"As am I your majesty." He grins.

"Are you ever going to be able to just call me Elsa?" I smile fondly at him.

"I don't think so your majesty, once we get out of Arendelle's territory we should stick to initials only, so I believe 'E' is as close as I'll get my queen."

"Very well, 'S'" I wink as he smiles back. Anna was right, he is kinda cute. I could stare into those big green eyes all day!

Just then, Anna crashes on the bed behind me, "Okay, all done!" she puffs, clearly out of breath, "That," she points to the still bulging suitcase, "is all I need to bring!" It doesn't look any smaller that when we started!

_No way, _I think to myself. I look to Sebastian with my best 'help me' eyes.

He quickly reads my message and nods before getting up and heading over to the case, "Right, let's see what's in here then." He says as he opens up the case and begins throwing everything out across the floor again.

The look of fury on Anna's face almost makes me fall to the floor laughing.

* * *

"Oh gosh no, please no more!"

"But my lord insists!"

"I'm sure he does Razor, but if I have any more cocoa I'm gonna be ill!"

"It's the only way to keep warm here." He said with a husky tone of voice.

I sigh, no way he's gonna let off any time soon, "Fine, just leave it on the table then, I'll drink it in a minute."

"Thank you!" he says relieved as he places the steaming mug on the table, taking three empty ones with him.

I'm surprised there aren't any burn marks on this table from all the hot drinks that have been left on it, but he was right in what he said; I've only been here for a few days now and it's absolutely freezing. Being in an icy lair sure doesn't help things, but Cyril said this was the easiest material to build out of, and there's definitely no shortage of that here! He was, however nice enough to give me a room further from the centre of the mountain as it's not too cold here, still cold, just not that cold. It's basically just a massive cave that has been mediocrely dug into the rock, and reinforced with some wooden planks and a fireplace, though I can barely keep it lit. It's nothing like the quality of the build that Elsa has on the north mountain, that's absolutely flawless, but this is amateur. He had his, weird follower things I don't know, move in some furniture to make it more liveable in here for me; I have a bed, a desk and a wardrobe with warmer cloths. He really is treating me with more respect than anyone else has in the past. Whether or not that's just because he wants my knowledge, and afterwards he won't care anymore, I don't know. After everything that has happened I do need just a bit of calming down, and a chilled out place to stay, and this place is starting to grow on me.

Thinking about it again makes me reminisce about what I had actually managed to accomplish during my short stay in Arendelle. I alone had managed to trick Anna into love and used her weak emotions to get to the queen. I was planning on killing her, killing the queen, and taking the throne for myself. Now that I am far away from all that for now, I can't help to think to myself:

_Was all that what I really wanted?_

All my life I had been brought up and raised around bigger, more successful brothers that used to gang up on me and treat me so badly, and I feel that hate was all I knew. After meeting Anna though, I don't know. Seeing her and Elsa on the deck of that ship in each other's arms, they were so happy. I nearly robbed the world of that bond forever just for my own selfish greed. I don't know if I would have wanted that at all. Sure, at the time it was all I'd wanted, but now I'm not so sure. Anna had such a warm heart to Elsa, and to me as a matter of fact! When we were on the balcony the night we met, I was telling her of all of the things my brothers used to do to me, and she genuinely felt for me.

We could have stayed together. Maybe not married as such, but I could have been her Prince she'd look to when she's troubled, if anything ever troubled her that is. We could have been a happy couple and lived in the palace, together as a family. Is this what I really wanted? Just to settle down? To be honest, as much as I'm sure it would just make things worse, for the past few days I have been thinking about returning to Arendelle, to somehow make up for what I've done. I'd probably be arrested and executed on the spot, heck it's what I'd do. Argh man I wish none of it had ever happened!

Just then there's a knock at my door. It takes me a minute to realise I actually need to answer it, in the past I was never given the luxury of privacy. I head to the door and open it to find Lord Purple himself standing at my door, patiently waiting.

"Lord Cyril? You know you don't need to knock, this is your place."

"It is, but THIS," he gestures to my room, "has been reallocated to you for now, and I respect people's privacy. It's no different to what I'd expect in return from them."

"Oh, Well, thank you?" I don't really know how to react.

"My pleasure, may I come in? There are some things I wish to discuss."

"Oh of course! Come in." I step aside as he walks in. He strolls over to the centre of the room and turns to face me, and for the first time, I notice the large red mark on his face.

"Shade would you watch to door for me? I don't want to be interrupted" he says.

"Of course my Lord." His voice startles me as I turn to see him behind me, how the heck did he get in here?

He steps outside the door and stands about a hair width apart from the door frame. As Cyril closes the door, I can't help but ask, "What happened to you?" I say pointing to my face, referring to his marks.

"Oh just a small disagreement with our new guest. So Hans, How are you finding it here? Is everything suited to you?" couldn't have changed that subject any quicker if he'd tried!

"Everything is great, thank you Lord Cyril, you have made me feel most welcome here." Wait- new guest? Who does he mean by that?

"Excellent." he pauses as he notices the poor excuse of a fire, "Having some trouble keeping it lit?"

"Oh yeah, fireplaces were never really something I was good at back home." It's true; we never needed them in the Southern Isles. Instead an inventor had installed these pipes of hot water that warmed up entire rooms!

"Stop calling it that. I seriously doubt you can call home a place where you'll be arrested and tried for treason on sight now can you?"

"This is true." I say slowly, I wonder if I'll I ever be able to return? Not that I'd want to anyway.

"As for this," he says waving at the fireplace behind me, and I feel a wave of heat hit me square in the back, "that should keep it going!"

I turn to see that the embers I had barely managed to sustain were now lost in a roaring fire that actually made crackling sounds as it burnt the firewood.

"Oh wow, that's much better, thank you." I mutter, quickly succumbing to it's warm embrace. It reminds me of when I stepped into the palace at Arendelle for the first time with Anna. Gosh- I need to get her out of my head!

"Not a problem," he heads over to my desk, "now down to business shall we?"

"Certainly." I reply as I take seat, I start to awkwardly look around for another chair, but I notice him grow a small stool of ice below him as he takes a seat. That's impressive.

"The first stage of the plan has been a success and we are currently holding Kristoff on the shelf overlooking the ocean." He begins.

This revelation catches me off-guard, "Kristoff's here?" I don't know why I am surprised, Cyril seems like the kind of guy that gets what he wants, when he wants.

"He is, as planned. The letter has been sent with his reindeer back to Arendelle and Anna and Elsa should be here in a week or so"

"So he's the guest then," I refer to his face again, "did he do this?"

"A cheap, disrespectful shot, which will not happen again."

"I see. Forgive me my lord, but what makes you so sure that they will both come?"

"Because of the excellent job you did whilst you were there, Elsa now values her sister's safety over anything. There is no way she'd let her travel without her." This is true, since my mishap they've never been closer.

"I see. So what happens then? They get here, you do your thing with Elsa's power and you move in with your army?" I really want to sip my cocoa, but I don't think I can stomach any more chocolate.

"Indeed. The original plan as I'm sure you'll remember involved an outright assault to fool the queen, but I believe that this would compromise your position in Arendelle. I doubt they'd be so kind to their new ruler that tried to kill off both the queen and princess, who then took over the city with an army. Respect is earned, not won in force."

I nod in agreement with this, I'd need to prove myself to the people of Arendelle before they'd ever consider allowing me to fill in, which still seems like an impossible task. If I'm honest, I'd like to take to the throne, just to be the best ruler possible; it's the least I owe. I feel like I would sound so facetious if someone were to hear my plan.

"So once you take Elsa's power, what will you do? Let them go on their way?"

He smiles at me with a patronising look, "One step at a time my friend, I'm sure you are eager to take the throne you so desire, but it will take some time first." He brings himself to his feet and the stool he'd created melts into the floor without a trace, "for now," he holds out his arms, "what's mine is yours, _'__Mi casa es su casa'_ as they say in Spain! Feel free to look around the place as you see fit. I think you'll find a few hidden areas you'll appreciate."

"I'll have to take your word for it about the Spain thing," I chuckle, "but thank you. I might take you up on that." I'm dying to get out of this room for a little bit and walk around.

"Excellent." He opens the door and Shade is patiently waiting on the other side, "stay warm!" he says as the door closes behind him and they leave.

One thing sticks in my head; he didn't answer my question about what he'll do with Anna and Elsa once they have left. Would he kill them, both of them? It makes sense to tie up loose ends, but I don't know how I feel about this.

I decide to head out for a walk, but just as I get to the door, a thought comes to my head.

I quickly grab the cocoa before I leave.

* * *

Cold… So cold… That's all I can feel now. I've gone past the stage where I'm shivering now, whatever energy I have left is focusing on staying awake. I don't know if the next time I close my eyes will be the last, and it's terrifying. Not for me, right now that seems like the only way out of here, but for Anna. She's was so happy when we were together, for the first time since the accident. And now she can't even have that. If this is the end for me, I don't know if Elsa will be able to fix her. I have to hold on for her. This guy better hope I never get free from this, he's gonna pay for what he's done to us.

The snow hasn't let off since I have been a 'guest' here, the ocean is starting to freeze over now and the wind is picking up. The conditions are so harsh, unlike anything I've ever experienced, and my body is in no way shielded from Mother Nature's cruel brutality.

My thoughts now are just full of images of her face. Her luscious strawberry-blonde hair that always smelt like strawberries, the way she laughs, the way she doesn't care about etiquette when she eats, she's perfect. I just wish she was here right now, holding me and keeping me warm the way she always used to. She'd never leave my side, always being close by, and I loved that about her. I was just as obsessed with her, if not more, I mean she is the Princess of Arendelle, and she loves me! It never really sinks in.

This dreamy train of thought makes me realise my eyes are closed again. NO! I have to keep them open again, I can't give up yet! I force them open and through my very blurry, unfocused vision, I can see something in front of my face. Whatever it is, it's warm, I can feel it from here, radiation onto my face, and it slowly brings relief to me that the feeling in my face is returning. Through my frozen nostrils the scent of chocolate batters its way into my nose, sending shivers of a different kind down my spine. Eventually I make out that whoever is in front of me is holding a mug of cocoa for me to drink! I gratefully accept, and lean forward, lapping up the hot cocoa and rinsing my entire mouth out with it, before I gulp it down into my empty stomach. The burning sensation it brings is a great remedy for the freezing temperature my body is currently at. In between my phases of drinking, I stop for a second to get two words out, but the numbness of my mouth makes it harder than I thought.

"Th… tha… Thank… y… you." I stutter, as I continue to drink quickly. All feelings of hatred for my captors I'm supressing in the hope that this becomes a regular supply.

"Don't drink it too fast; it will hurt on the way down."

I freeze solid, metaphorically. I'd recognise that voice anywhere, and the feeling of bitter hatred it brings. I look up and squint at the ginger, carefully trimmed face of Prince Hans, staring at me with the mug in his hands.

"Yo… y… you?"

"I'll be bringing you one of these as often as I can-"

He cuts off and flinches back as I lunge for him with every last bit of energy I have within me, though the chains quickly catch and I just stay where I am, helpless and filled with fury.

"H… how d… dare you try and k… kill Anna. And Elsa!" There is so much I want to say to him, tell him exactly what I think about him, but talking is so painful, "And now, y… you're doing this!"

"I'm sorry this happened to you, but-"

"Sorry?! You're s… sorry?!" I raise my voice now, my throat is on fire but I'm just too angry to stop. "That f… f… fixes everything, doesn't it!?"

"No it doesn't but…"

He stops there in thought, then just leaves, carrying the empty mug with him.

"Is tha… is that it? You j… just came out here to ap… po… apologize!?" I'm screaming out now, but I hear the door close behind me. "IS TH… THAT IT!?"

And the world is empty once again, just me, these freezing shackles and a slightly warmer stomach. My mind is a mess from this very brief encounter though. Hans is here, no doubt he's behind this as well, yet he's helping me? Even if he does feel sorry, he's got a lot more to make up for if he thinks that this changes anything. He tried to kill Anna and Elsa for goodness sake! There's no way you can forgive that. I'm all for giving people second chances but this is just… just different. It's Hans!

That being said, these cocoa's become a regular thing and I'll consider starting to, as much as it pains me to admit it, Hans may have just saved my life.

What is he planning?

* * *

Anna, Sebastian and I have been on the road for only twenty minutes at the most now; we'd opted to take three individual horses as oppose to sharing a single sled in case for any reason we need to run from anyone we find, or rather finds us. We are riding in line with each other, selflessly taking up the whole road. I'm on the left, with Anna on the right and Sebastian taking up the middle. I've gone with my own personal horse, Percy, a white stallion Mother had bought for me when I was younger. She said he was to keep me occupied; where I usually wouldn't be able to spend time with anyone, I'd groom and tend to him instead, and he's magnificent. Sebastian has chosen his own palace horse named Cesaer, though he says it's pronounced 'chez-ad-ehe'? It has a strange foreign twinge to it that I like. His fur is jet black with a rather unique small tuft of white hair on his head; from a distance it looks like he is a unicorn, a mythical creature that looks like a horse, but has a long, elegant horn on its head, I've read about them in my books. Cesaer is also wearing gold palace armour matching Sebastian's, bearing the crest of Arendelle. I have a feeling that at some point during our journey we'll have to ditch these as they are a bit of a giveaway.

Anna's horse is a strange one, unfortunately; a light brown creature with white splodges across her body and a long, thick brown mane. She is smaller than our horses and, sadly, we think is about to go in heat. Me and Sebastian both have good equestrian knowledge and know that this could cause serious problems between Cesaer and Percy, but Anna insisted as she's her favourite, so we'll have to cross that bridge when we get to it.

We are well on our way to the Valley of the Living Rock now, the thick forest around us acting as a funnel and a means of solitary protection; shielding us from prying eyes, though there will be no one looking for us for a while yet. Even though the sun is out, it's well into winter now, and a thin layer of snow had settled from the light fall the night before. The mixture of the two make uphill travel slower than usual so we're not really moving at pace, however I do seize the opportunity to rid the atmosphere of the dull clippity-clop of our horses and get to know our new companion a little better.

"So Sebastian, where are you from? I mean, before you took your position at Arendelle?"

"I'm from a small town called Djursholm in Sweden your majesty, a country that borders here. I was stationed at a military barracks to defend the kingdom against street crime and violence. I made my way up the ranks from a city guard to a palace guard, to a royal guard and then eventually, I was offered the role of guard captain."

"Wow, that's really impressive!" Anna adds from her right flank.

"So what brought you to Arendelle? Why leave Sweden?" I ask.

"Well actually, I originally lived in Arendelle in the city's orphanage. There was no room at any of the orphanages back home so I was transferred here. When I was about nine, I was told I was being shipped back to Sweden as a space had opened up there." Both Anna and I are being drawn into his story and we're respectfully silent, "I really didn't want to leave. The nuns that ran the one here were all so nice and friendly, I felt like they actually cared. Back in Sweden…" he pauses for a few seconds and then shakes his head, "I don't know… it was different."

"So," Anna was the first to break the silence, "You don't have any family in Sweden?"

"No. I don't your highness." I can sense a slight upset in his voice, but Anna keeps pressing. "What about your mother? Where is she?"

I can tell that he doesn't want to answer, "Anna, these are very personal questions! You can't just ask someone that!"

"Oh, right. Sorry…"

"It's okay your highness, I just don't really want to talk about it, if that's okay."

"Of course it is!" Whew! Glad we dodged that one!

The next hour or so goes fairly quickly, and I notice that the sun is starting to cover the landscape in its typical orange glow before it sets for the night. "I think we might have to start thinking about camping out at some point." I say out loud.

"Oh look! No need!" Anna says pointing to some geysers just ahead of us.

"Anna we're looking for a Valley, not geysers!" I said quietly.

She just sighs and gives her reins a sharp tug to the right, "Follow me! C'mon Cinnamon!" she says as she catches the horses thigh with her boots, and she takes off through a small gap in the trees.

Me and Sebastian look at each other, "Cinnamon?" he asks, just before darting in after her.

"Apparently so," I say to myself, "let's go Percy!" I say as I gently spur him through and give chase.

A few minutes have passed, and we've finally caught up to Anna, who had stopped to look at a cliff face, towering above us.

"Wow, must be at least one hundred feet?" I ask, still staring up at the cliff.

"Two hundred," she corrects me, "Elsa, this is where Marshmallow chased Kristoff and I, we fell from up there!" She pointed up to the high cliff and drew a line in the air with her finger, leading to the floor just next two her.

"How on earth can you survive something like that?" Sebastian said in reply.

"Oh don't worry, Kristoff knew that the snow here," she waves at the floor, "was thick and fresh, like a pillow he said." Luckily he was right…

"Wait a minute…" I say, as I hop off of Percy and walk to the wall of rock, in deep thought. "If Marshmallow chased you through to here, then does that mean…" I point up to the top and lose myself in thought again.

"That's right," Anna says, approaching me, "your palace is up there."

"Her Ice palace?" Sebastian exclaims. His tone of voice quickly changes to a more apologetic one, "Forgive me your majesty, but I had not believed that it was real. It was Hans that organised the party that sought you out up here your majesty," he says, now staring up the cliff also. "I just didn't believe it when I heard it."

"Maybe she can show you on the way back?" Anna asks, as they both look to me, like expectant children begging for a toy, I see what she's planning…

"Huh? Oh- of course we can, on the way back." I promise them.

"Great!" Anna shouts, "Now c'mon! Not far now!" Then just like that, she's off again.

"If this keeps up, poor Cesaer is going to drop with all the gear he is carrying!" Sebastian says to me.

He's right, Cesaer has been carrying the main bulk of our equipment and supplies, our suitcases had been converted into convenient carry sacks to make it easier to carry. He is also sporting full palace armour which isn't light. "Well, let's hope she's right then!"

"With respect, does she even know where she's going your majesty?"

"She's certainly acting like she does isn't she?" I smile back as we both give chase again.

Another ten minutes or so and we pass through the clearing and find ourselves in a flatland with rock and moss everywhere, and a few geysers and pools of fresh water around.

"Is it close to here?" Sebastian asks Anna.

"It's right there actually!" She says pointing to a larger open basin full of boulders, or is that them?

"Then I recommend we dismount here." He says as he jumps off Cesaer. "The water here has been boiled by the pressure underground, meaning it is safe to drink."

"Really?" I ask, turns out I never got around to reading that survival guide.

"Yes your majesty, see?" he points to our trusty transport, and sure enough, all of our horses move towards the pool and start to drink together.

"Aww, that's so cute!" Anna says, flapping her hands at the clearly overwhelming cuteness.

"It kind of is isn't it?" I say.

"Right," Anna snaps out of her trance, "let's go find out what that note means."

We approach the basin and walk to the centre, when Anna notices something different. "Hey look at that! These weren't here before!"

What used to be just empty space with a few rocks in it, had turned into what looked like a small settlement, small huts made of bamboo shoots and leaves for roofs had been erected all over the place. Some were actually quite large, I think maybe even we could all get inside it!

Anna starts calling out to the still rocks around us, "Umm, Trolls? Are you here?" She is met with silence, "Come on guys wake up! We need help!" she starts knocking on random little doors, but still nothing.

"Urm…" Sebastian starts, "Who is she talking to?"

"You'll see!" I wink to him.

A few seconds pass, but it's still as quiet as ever. No movement whatsoever. Just then I notice one of the smaller rocks twitch a little, to which the one next to it says "Shh…" very quietly, making me giggle a little; if I wasn't already looking over there, I would have missed it.

Anna looks around her helplessly and then turns to me, "Why won't they respond?"

"I think they might be nervous about revealing themselves in front of you Sebastian." I say to him.

"You- you're talking about the rocks?" he says in a shallow tone.

"Yes, trolls are very secretive creatures, and won't usually wake until they are in their comfort zone." I recall what I have read about them, "Maybe it'd be best if you leave us for a few m-"

"C'mon guys we don't have time for this!" Anna shouts out now, "Kristoff's in serious trouble and we need help now!"

At that moment, the ground below me seemingly awakens and rumbles loudly, and the mossy covered rocks are all rolling towards us and surrounding us. I see Sebastian slowly place his hand on his sword, but I put a hand on his, reassuring him.

One by one, each rock unfolds itself into a troll, each different in size and clothing. They did however all have a sense of urgency about them. Last time I was here they all surrounded us in formation before revealing themselves all at the same time, but now they're all unfolding in unorganised ways, some in mid-roll, causing them to fall over and some to even crash into each other in distress.

A slightly larger one takes a little longer to get to us, but he slows and unfolds to reveal himself as Pappie Troll, and speaks in a very raspy, elderly voice.

"Your Majesty," he slowly bows to me, "Your highness," then at Anna, "You said Kristoff is in some sort of trouble?"

"Yes Pappie," Anna answers for me, "He's been taken by a lord Cyril. We think may be holding him somewhere as hostage, and that he wants us to go to him."

"Most peculiar." He says to himself, "Why would he do this? Has Kristoff done anything wrong?"

"No, not at all." I interject. "I… We… have reason to believe that he wants to trade Kristoff for myself, though we don't know why." I feel so bad for him; to have his adopted son move into the city with us must have saddened him, but now to hear that he has been taken, and that I, the protector of this realm, couldn't keep him safe?

"My goodness…" I can hear whimpers and murmurs behind him from Kristoff's concerned family, one younger troll even breaks down into tears.

"Oh no, uh uh, no way some magic little worm head is gonna get away with taking MY boy!" One of the female trolls growls out; I assume that this is his adoptive mother.

"I'm so sorry everyone," I start, "If I hadn't been so careless none of this would have happened…"

"You can't say that my Queen," Pappie troll says, "You don't know that with your outburst, you may have avoided more problems down the line." He reassures, although I'm not sure if he's trying to convince me or himself.

"Pappie troll," Anna steps in, "We need your help. Lord Cyril left a note to us, and Elsa- I mean, Queen Elsa, thinks there's something funky about the paper it's on."

"Is this true?" Pappie turns to me, "Do you have this paper with you?"

"Yes I do." I say as I quickly take the piece of paper out of my pocket and hand it to him, and at its touch, he instantly flinches and his eyes widen with admiration.

"Oh my yes, this is very special paper indeed," he says, closing his eyes in deep thought, "This is magic paper, taken from the woods of a faraway place, called the High Isles."

"Is that where we should go?" Anna asks, eager to get her Kristoff back.

"Hmm, I can't be sure. I think we should look into this paper a little more before any decisions are made." He says.

"I tried casting my magic on it back in the castle, but it only revealed this marking." I say, pointing at the now permanent mark left on the paper.

"Ah of course," he says, tapping the image, "A Magic Seal, used to identify an object enchanted with extra capabilities that might not reveal themselves to those without a keen eye." He summarises.

"So what can this one do?" Anna asks over my shoulder.

"Let's find out. Usually a Magic Seal with low resistance can be triggered when it comes into contact with a form of conjuration," he looks to me now, "Queen Elsa, would you mind casting your magic on here again for me?"

"Okay…" I say.

I drop to a knee as he places the paper on the floor in-between us. I hold out my hand and without hesitation, flow snow and ice from my palm and letting it fall and settle in a mound on the paper. I give it a few seconds before I withdraw my hand, ending the flow, and the mound burying the paper quickly sinks into it and like last time, just exposes that same marking again.

"It's no good," I say to him, "It did reveal that mark but, other than that nothing."

"Hmm… most peculiar" he says rubbing his chin. "Okay, let's try it one more time shall we?"

"But you've just seen what it does!" Anna snaps, "It doesn't work, and we need to find out where to go soon, else he'll hurt Krissy!"

"Anna!" I jump up and spin to face her, shocked at her outburst. Sebastian catches my concerned eyes and places a hand on her shoulder and turns her to face him.

"Try and stay calm your highness," he starts, "This is not how your Mother and Father would like you to react."

"They'd be annoyed too, just like me!" She retorts, "Don't act like you know them better than I do!" This situation is quickly getting out of control, luckily Sebastian seems to know what he's doing.

"Of course they would and I'm not trying to say that, no one knew them better than the two of you," he began, "but I was privileged enough to be close friends with the two of them growing up in the barracks as a teenager, and I assure you that this," he waves Anna up and down with the back of his hand, "is not what they would want for their daughter."

Wow, he certainly has a way with words. As a guard captain, I assumed that he would just be able to diffuse a situation with violence and arrests, but he just proved me very wrong. I quickly turn back to Pappie and the rest of the very shocked trolls.

"I'm so sorry about that, she's been so upset with all that has happened."

"It's quite alright your majesty," he says, waving a dismissive hand in the air, "Though I do think that you should try again in your efforts!" he says tapping the paper.

I focus my thoughts and take a knee again. I raise my hand and generate the flow of snow and ice again, only this time Pappie closes his eyes and holds out a hand, emitting a red glow around the paper. This time the snow settles a lot quicker and the mound starts to reach my hand, making me have to stop. Suddenly the mound quickly drops into the paper much faster than usual, and exposes a detailed map that works around the marking that was already left on the paper. It takes me a moment to realise that it is a map of Europe and the surrounding Isles, with one small group circled that I don't recognise.

"That's the High Isles," Sebastian says over my shoulder, "Is that where we need to go?" he asks Pappie.

"I believe so. It looks like this map has been created purposely for guiding you all to this Lord Cyril's hideout. If what you're saying is true my queen, in that he wants a trade, then that's where he will be keeping Kristoff, I'm sure of it."

"The High Isles…" Sebastian says under his breath while studying the map, "That's at least a five day sail, not including finding a dock with private hire ships… About a week and a half I'd say…"

"A week and a half?!" Anna exclaims, "That's too long! What about Kristoff? If we take that long to reach him then he could be in trouble!"

Sebastian steps in again, "If this is really what he wants then Cyril will wait as long as it takes, he would never bring Kristoff to harm if it meant risking the trade-off."

"Sebastian's right Anna," I say standing up, relieving my dead leg, "He's gone through all the effort to get Kristoff there, he'll be happy to wait for us."

"Yeah, you're right." She says, "Well, we know where to go now, let's go!" she spins around and takes off towards the horses, "Thank you for all the help Pappie!"

"My pleasure your highness!" Pappie calls out, but I believe that she's already out of earshot.

"Thank you for all your help Pappie," I say to him as I start to back off, "I promise we'll bring him back safely."

"I'm sure you will." He says.

Sebastian and I begin to head out after Anna, but just as I'm about to leave the basin, he calls back to me, "I assume then that you'll head back to Arendelle to gather your guards to escort you your majesty?" Something about his tone sounds patronizing, does he know?

"Oh- yes! Sebastian's going to muster up his best for us!" I lie, instantly regretting it.

"I see." He knows. Darn.

My conscience gets the better of me, "Sebastian, would you give me a minute? I'll be out shortly."

He nods and heads after Anna, and I turn back to Pappie. I also notice that he has dismissed all the other trolls leaving just the two of us. He beckons to me to take another knee next to him, just as the feeling in my right leg had returned.

"Your majesty," he begins, "I believe that your intentions for the outcome of this trip may vary to Anna and Sebastian's. Would you agree?"

"What do you mean?" I ask, confused.

"I mean that you would be willing to sneak out and run away from your own kingdom and give yourself in as a trade to ensure that Kristoff returns to Arendelle with Anna, correct?"

I knew I couldn't keep this from him. "Well, yes. But that's the only way it would work."

"That may be the case, but I must encourage you to consider the implications of this result."

At that moment, he waves his arms in the air above us, and a red mist forms with strange shapes in it. These shapes then split off into three different, almost human-like ones. A smaller green one, a taller much wider yellow one, and a smaller thinner blue one. I decide that these represent Anna, Kristoff and I.

"Your personal objective for this mission is to get Anna and Kristoff back home safely, whatever the cost. I believe, however, that you must consider what this means for you, Elsa."

"I don't care what happens to me," I say, "I just want to make sure that Anna lives the best life she could possibly have, and that means Kristoff over me. She has already giver her life for me, it's her turn now, and my mind is made up."

"I understand your view your majesty, but I think you underestimate the way your sister sees you as a part of her life."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that, to Anna, you are her entire world. With you at her side, she feels that the two of you could accomplish any task. She has lived a life of confinement growing up, and all that time she just worried about you Elsa, the sister that meant the world to her that she suddenly lost through no reason whatsoever. Now that she has you back, that bond of sisterhood has been repaired."

While he is saying this, I notice that the shapes in the air have changed slightly. Between the blue and the green ones, a bright red line has joined the two together, both now emitting a strong red glow that is quite dazzling to look at.

"Now she has this bond back in her life, and it is largely because of this ice man." As he says this, the larger, yellow shape floats towards the top of our link, and two more lines adjoin him to the two below, making a triangle of figures, fiercely glowing red in the air.

"The two of you have become a triangle, the strongest shape in existence. This bond that you all share is a very strong one, one that cannot so easily be broken by others, but easily destroyed in seconds."

"Destroyed in seconds?" I repeat back, "How?"

"By breaking these bonds between you." as he says this, the blue figure floats away and disappears from view and the two bonds connecting it to the yellow and green shapes disintegrate.

"Once one of the three pieces leaves the triangle, it becomes a flat line. This line, if not supported, will fall." As he says this, the two figures drift apart, and slowly fade away into the air. I shudder and gasp at what this represents.

"Well, what can I do?"

"Just be cautious my queen, Anna's heart has only recently been thawed, and it is still very fragile. Very extreme events are set to unfold in the future, and you must make sure that she that her loved ones surround her, else her existence will cease to just a spec in the bigger scheme of things."

Oh my… He's essentially just told me that losing either Kristoff or me will kill her. That's not the plan! Anna must come first here, but I'm starting to see no way around this.

I sigh and sink my head into my hands, "Oh Pappie, what am I to do? I didn't realise that I meant THAT much to her. She needs to live her life with Kristoff, he means so much to her. It's what she's been looking for all her life! You should see those two together, it's magical. After everything I have put her through, he's like the reward she gets for sticking it out. After Hans, I promised I would be protective over whoever becomes a part of Anna's life, but once I saw Kristoff with her in my Ice Palace, I just knew. It's hard to explain. He's just perfect for her, and loves her as much as she loves him."

"I understand," he smiles, "he's my boy, remember?"

"That's true." I smile, we both giggle slightly.

"Elsa," he turns more serious again, "I urge you to think about what kind of affect that this decision of yours may have on your family, and make sure that Anna is aware."

"You think I should tell her?" I ask.

"I just think that she should be made aware of anything that might be troubling her sister's mind. She's going to need all the emotional support she can get."

Upon saying this, he pulls out a crystal pendant exactly the same as mine! His has more of a lighter, baby-blue glow to it however.

"That's a crystal pendant!" I say in awe, "It's the same as my mother's!" I say as I reach to mine and show him.

"It is, as is the third crystal." He says.

"Third? I didn't know there was a third." This is news to me, though he seems troubled by my lack of knowledge.

"Oh? That's a pity, though I had a feeling that your father had hidden it, it's probably for the best.!

"Well," I hold mine in the air, "would this have been it?"

"Not quite, you know the story of the wizard that infused his being into these crystals, yes?"

"Kind of, but I didn't know that there were three of them!" it's a scary thought, "just how powerful was this wizard?"

"Extremely powerful your majesty, with the wisdom to lead any army to victory, and the power to level an entire empire in seconds." This makes me shiver a little that that kind of power exists! "Luckily for us however, he was very close friends with your parents, and was a good guy."

"Whew! That's a relief!" I say. "So there are three of these?" I can literally feel Anna's stare stabbing at me from through the trees, but curiosity has gotten the better of me, and I might never get to ask these questions ever again.

"Indeed." He looks sternly at my crystal. "Mind, spirit and Power: these are the three segments that make up a great wizard, and it's not uncommon for wizards to use this incarnation, so their abilities can live on in others after death. These are also the parts of his being that he fused with these crystals. He left one to the troll family in the Valley of the living rock," he said tapping his own pendant, "one to Queen Idun," he gestures to mine, "and one more to King Agdar."

"So which ones are which?"

"I have been blessed with the wizard's spirit, so I believe that your mother will have received his powerful mind."

"So where could the power crystal be?"

"Only your father would know your majesty. I would say however, that that particular secret stay buried. Such raw power can easily be misused by those that would hurt others," he sighs a little, "and there seems to me no shortage of people like that recently."

His words remind me of why I am here. I jump up and wipe my dress free of the dirt on my knees, "Don't worry Pappie. We'll bring him back, I promise."

"Thank you your majesty," he smiles at me, "Now hurry along, time is short!"

I turn to head back to Anna and Sebastian, but one more less serious question still ponders on the tip of my tongue. I turn back to Pappie one last time.

"Hey Pappie, where did these huts all come from, did you all build them yourselves?"

"Oh no my queen!" he chuckles, "we trolls are not blessed with the talent of construction unfortunately, Kristoff however is, and he was very good to us don't you think?" he said holding his arms out to his sides, showing off all the new residences. This catches me off guard.

"Kristoff made all of these?" I'm genuinely shocked! They're all so detailed and carefully built, and there's so many of them!

"Well he mustn't take all the credit, you had a great deal to do with it too your majesty."

"Me? What did I do again?"

He smiled and slowly paces towards me, "Queen Elsa, you have given something to Kristoff that we have never been able to offer him: Home. A real home. He loved it here and for us trolls it's perfect, but Kristoff is not a troll. He gets cold and wet during the rain. You've done more than you think, not to mention what you are doing right now for him and Anna!"

"I… I don't know what to say!" I say.

"Nothing needs to be said your majesty," he bows, "Just remember the impact that you have on those around you, not just Kristoff and Anna, but that guard accompanying you? I sense he is growing very fond of you."

"Me?" He… Does he like me? "You think he likes me?" I can feel my cheeks flood bright red.

He simply grins and says, "We'll both see won't we?"

* * *

When I break through the clearing and back to the small geyser field, I am greeted, or more confronted, by a clearly annoyed Anna.

"Well I'm glad you decided to show! I thought we were going to save Krissy! Not talk about stones!"

"I'm sorry Anna, it won't happen again." I say as I greet my sister with a hug. I feel that bad for her that I won't even dare to scold her for addressing me the way she did; I do need to remember that I have a position of royalty to uphold. Now that I know how much she cares about me, it makes me realise just how much she has been affected by all this; she'd never raise her voice to me, and nor would I to her.

"Erm, your highness? Your majesty? May I suggest we hurry now?"

Hearing Sebastian voice from atop his horse behind Anna made me realise just how long we've been here. The sun is starting to go down now, and the paths will soon only be lit by lamps and torchbearers. That's when I notice that our royal guard has a lantern of his own, but he's not lit it yet. My mind is still going over what Pappie told me about him.

"Yes, of course we must." I say as I break away from Anna and we clamber on our horses.

As we head out towards the road in single file, Anna breaks the brief silence. "So what did Pappie have to say? You were there for quite a while Elsa!" she asks from in front.

"Just about this crystal that mother had left me. Turns out it's part of a set!"

"Really? Maybe we should start searching for them when we return? You know, one for you, me and Kristoff?"

"That would be a good idea." I say, though I know that I would never ask for Pappie's off of him. It had been left to him for a reason; much like my mother's has been left to me.

Just as this thought crosses my mind, I am suddenly conscious of the rather sharp object in my dress pocket. I reach in to feel my pendant, but I don't remember taking it off? I reach to my neck, and my searching grasp finds the crystal dangling from its chain. I pull this one out of my pocket and quickly recognise it as the one that Pappie was wearing! Has he given this to me? Why would it just present itself now?

Maybe this is the reason that it was left to him, to give to us during this adventure we find ourselves on. I feel that if there's anyone that deserves a wizard's spirit right now, it's my sister. I decide that I'll bring up everything Pappie and I had spoken about when we next camp out, although it's rather safe to travel through these Arendelle roads while dark.

Though I might just need his spirit for when I tell Anna how I intend to get Kristoff back to her, we'll both need all the strength we can get.

* * *

**Update: 16/12/14 20:53 Formatting and spell check.**

* * *

**Thanks for sticking it out! This was a really long chapter, but during writing it I couldn't really see a natural stopping point so it just kept going!**

**Also if you didn't already know, Disney have confirmed that they have an animated short following on from Frozen called Frozen Fever, and they have also confirmed a full feature length sequel is in the works! I however will not be following on the story to coincide with the actual Frozen 2, I'll continue it on from the original film.**

**So a lot for Elsa to think about here as we leave them on their way, and just what does Hans think he's doing? Is he trying to worm his way back into everyone's good books?**

**We'll see won't we!**

**All the best,**

**-Dan**


	10. Born and Bred for Boredom

**Born and Bred for Boredom**

It's been so hard finding things that will fill the day. Aside from sitting and watching the birds from the royal balcony I'm perched on fly back and forth between a bird nest that is tucked away underneath a plant pot holder and another that is perched way over there, right on top of the spire on the left side guard towers. I can't really decide why it's doing that… Do birds have two homes? Is he just visiting a friend? I think that's nice, though Elsa would know the real reason why he's doing it. It's probably something way too smart for me to know. I look down to see that the palace courtyard is bustling with people rushing through the gates to find the various market stalls that are open. There are also some children in the corner playing with a strange round object made of leather? Whatever that is, it looks fun! I really want to play with them, but Elsa always said that I need to be careful around strangers unless I'm really sure they're nice people, and right now I'm too on edge to judge whether or not they are or not. In the opposite corner, closer to the palace, there are royal guards performing some kind of display. They are all in two lines facing each other. The one with the large hat with a point on top paces through the middle. That's Senior Officer Gregor, and no doubt, he is checking his guards over as it's the first time he'll have stepped in for the guard captain.

Speaking of which, I wonder where he, Elsa and Anna are. Would they have left the trolls home now? Ah, this is too scary… What if Gregor asks me if I know anything about it? Because I DO know all about it, and Elsa always said to never lie to the guards, ever! However, if I do lie, then Elsa and Anna will be able to get a little bit further away, and closer to reaching Kristoff. What do I do? Oh- I don't know what to do!

I swing my feet back over and hop down to the floor. I wander across the hall towards the stairs, waddling that slowly I could see my flurry's snowflakes slowly falling and melting away into my feet. This really wasn't what I was expecting life would be like living in the palace with Elsa and Anna. I thought it was going to be a life full of fun and games, instead it's just the same thing every day: walking around the palace looking for things to do. Elsa keeps telling me that she would play with me when her work is finished, but she's always so busy that we never get the chance! I get that she's been away for a while and she has a lot to catch up on, but surely she can spare a few minutes to have just a little bit of fun? Maybe she really couldn't and I've just been selfish, but now my only regret was that she's gone on this big adventure, and I'll never see her again. What's worst then that? I can't tell anyone. I'm just supposed to pretend to be absolutely fine with the fact that she's gone forever, then act upset all over again when she doesn't return. This is going to be so hard.

But it's not all a sad story, for Anna and Kristoff anyway. They both will finally be able to live happily forever after together, well maybe not too happy. I think if Anna and Kristoff return, no- WHEN Anna and Kristoff return, Anna is going to be absolutely destroyed. She'll be an empty shell of a princess who has just lost her sister that she has only just gotten back home. What can I do then? Would I tell her that I knew what she was going to do, and I did nothing to stop it, that I couldn't stop it?

This train of thought occupied my mind for a while, as I now find myself wandering into the courtyard and right in the midst of all that's occurring here. The children playing with the ball have stopped for a while and are catching their breath while sitting against the wall. One of them spots me and calls out.

"Hey Olaf! Come here and play with us!"

"Yeah we need a goalie!" another said.

I really want to, but the last time I played with these guys it didn't go so well. The put me in goal and kick it at me really hard. It's really fun and when it hits me it literally goes right through me! All the kids used to feel really bad and say they were sorry, but after a while they realised it was all okay!

I'm still so upset with Elsa's chat with me that I can't even reply. I just turn around and waddle around some more. I decide that it's probably best to avoid Kai and Gerda in case we start chatting and I let something slip-

"Olaf! There you are little guy!" I hear a cheerful voice from behind me. I turn to see Gerda waving to me with one hand, holding a breadbasket in the other.

Great… Now I have to talk to her otherwise she might suspect something, "Hi Gerda!" I waddle over to her and notice that she's actually leaving the palace with the full basket, rather than heading in from the market. "Where are you headed with all that bread?" It sounded really accusing, but I was only trying my best to avoid the awkward conversation where she asks me how I am coping with Elsa's absence, and I'd have to lie through my- one big tooth.

"Oh these?" she raises the basket slightly; "These are all going to the orphanage down by the market! Anna usually takes them herself but in her absence I'm doing it on her behalf!"

"Oh that's cool!" I said, I forgot that she usually runs down to there every week or so.

"If you want to come with you could meet all the children Anna sees?"

"Okay! That sounds great!" Aww man! I'm supposed to be avoiding spending time with them! As much as I want to, I don't want to risk anything with Anna and Elsa!

"I was thinking about trying to find something for you to do! I expect you have been so bored without the Queen and Princess here haven't you?" she asks as we start heading towards the gate.

"Yeah…" I mumble, "But it's okay! It won't be long until they get back!" I chuckled, without looking her in the eye.

"That's the spirit Olaf! I must admit you seem to be dealing with all this so much better than I thought you would!" She states.

"Well I do have Sven to talk to, don't I?" Although the more I think of it, without Kristoff Sven has no way of replying to me.

"Of course, and me and Kai too remember?" Oh dear, is she suspecting something? I'm getting very nervous now. I notice that my flurry is starting to produce more snow than usual.

"Yeah, I know! I wouldn't avoid you guys! Why would I do that?" This is not going very well...

"Um… That's right!" she says carefully.

C'mon Olaf, change the subject quick! "So why does Anna often go down to the Orphanage with bread?"

"She's been doing it since she was a little girl. She used to wake up, run down to the kitchens and load up a basket of bread. She always used to run it down to the Orphanage and back in minutes, right before breakfast! Then, of course, I took over once everything happened with Queen Elsa. Once the gates opened and the Great Thaw happened, the princess started going again. You wait until you see all those little faces light up when they smell the bread!"

"Oooh I bet they love it!" I can only imagine that it tastes as good as it smells.

We take a gentle stroll down to the Orphanage, passing through the market stalls as we go. Having looked at the bread in the basket, I now know that the bread coming from the castle looks more prepared and has been buttered and carefully browned to keep it fresh. I bet that they will savour every single mouthful of this food! It looks so good!

A multitude of different scents wafted through my nose from the various market stalls. The smells of freshly cooked fish, baked bread, and herbs and spices softly spliced through the air around us, seemingly queuing up to intrude into our sinuses, and my eyes regularly found themselves slipping shut in admiration of the aromas. Gerda just carried on walking, obviously unaffected.

As we approach the big wooden building just in view from the market stalls, the sound of laughing children and crying infants became more and more apparent. Gerda gentle knocks three times on the door. After a few seconds it opens, and reveals a small lady dressed in black and white church nun's clothing answers.

"Ah, Gerda! How nice to see you!" she answers.

"Hi Abagail! Thought I'd run down your bread for you!" Gerda says cheerfully as she hands over the basket of still steaming bread.

"Ooh that smells divine!" Abagail says as she takes a long sniff of the bread, and her eyes fall upon me. "Olaf? Hi! I didn't expect to see you here! I thought you'd be up in the grounds with the Queen or the Princess?"

Remembering Elsa had grew another lump in my throat, but Gerda answered before I could, "The Queen and Princess are away on royal business, that's why I'm delivering these to you." She said, referring to the bread.

"Ah I see! I bet you're bored out of your head little guy?" She said to me.

"Kind of yeah, everyone is so busy around the palace nowadays that they never get the chance to have any fun at all!" It's true, they'd always say they would play once they've done this or once they have read this or filed that, I never got a look in!

"Well in that case Olaf, I have a favour to ask you…" Abagail said to me.

"Oh really? What's that?" I asked back, keen to find out.

"The children in this orphanage are all quite big fans of yours and they really would like to meet you! Would you spare a few minutes?" she asks as she gestures with her arm into the building.

"A few minutes!?" I repeat, "I could spend all day here!

She opens the door for me as I stroll in, and I am greeted with a fantastic sight. The Orphanage has marvellous oak wood flooring smoothed off at the edges. The walls were large panels of wood and square windows, divided up by stone columns. Each wall has chairs and tables stacked against them, as though the entire room can be quickly converted into a dining hall. There are children everywhere, much to expect from an orphanage, and they're playing! There are some in one corner playing with a leather ball similar to the group in the courtyard earlier, some in another are playing with big wide bats and a smaller ball, others are simply throwing snowball-sized balls and trying to get each other! It's like an indoor snowball fight! There is a grid with numbers on the floor that some children are jumping in and out of quickly, in time with the clapping hands of the others. Hopscotch! I've heard of this game before, it's so fun! All the way on the other side of the room, children are kicking a ball against a reinforced wall, and taking it in turns to kick it back off of it.

"This… Is… Amazing!" I exclaim as I throw up my arms in excitement. Just then all of the children stop playing and look towards me; one gets hit in the face by the ball he was supposed to catch.

"Olaf's here!" one of the children calls out, to which they all cheered loudly and started running over to me. I can't contain my excitement as I beam and run towards them. I quickly find myself engulfed in the arms of the children there, all chattering to me about every topic under the sun! Some ask about what life is like in the palace, some ask what Queen Elsa is like, one accidently pulls off my arm and looks really sorry, but it makes funny shapes and snakes around shaking hands with them. I'm so popular here! I had no idea that they all wanted to meet me!

Behind me I hear Gerda giggle to Abagail, "Well it looks like they are happy!"

"I know! Look at their faces! They haven't smiled like this in a long time!" I see her turn to Gerda, "It would be no bother having him stay you know, the children would love it!"

Gerda looks over to me for an answer, "Oh Gerda, please let me stay!"

"Hey I'm not expecting you to sit at the palace all day, am I? You're more than welcome to stay here as long as you want!"

At that, the children all jumped up with ideas of what we could do next. Some wanted to play with the bigger ball in the corner, others wanted to play Hopscotch, and others wanted to play their version of a snowball fight.

"You guys wanna see real snowballs?" I say as I give my flurry a shake. As I do, the snowfall becomes heavier and starts to settle on the floor. The children all get excited as they start to pick up snowballs and throw them at each other. One of the smaller ones comes up to me, "Hey Olaf, do you want to play Defend the Fortress?"

"That's my favourite game!" I said as I started work on my little fort. For the next few hours at least, I could forget about Elsa…

* * *

Well, this is very new to me! Trudging through the woods collecting firewood isn't a regular thing for us princess's to do. I've fallen over branches and tripped over twigs so many times already, and I'm absolutely soaked. It's not raining, but all the moisture and dew from the leaves and foliage had sapped into my clothes and made every step heavier. My walking boots are now caked in mud and loosened grass, making every step hard and heavy and… just plain messy, and I'll never forget the awful splodgy sound and the feeling underfoot. It doesn't help that it is quite far from the usually warm centre of Arendelle's realm, so it has not been tendered by people before and as a result, it is extremely thick and dense; untouched by man. There is no visible path ahead of us, other than that which Sebastian has cut out behind us.

Through the thicker trees and dense bushes I continue on, keeping an eye out for the thicker branches that Sebastian had told me to look for, especially mouldy ones and ones that crumple easily, apparently they catch fire easier than others. I reach to pick some up and hug it to my chest; I didn't realise how heavy it was! It leaves green residue and marks on my dress, but I'm sure it matters not.

Repeatedly bending town to pick up the logs of wood was all I was doing for the next few minutes and I had gathered up quite a bit! Ha! I'd like to see the fire go out with all this to burn! I stood up and start to head back to Elsa and Sebastian, when the snap of a twig freezes me in place. It takes only a few seconds for me to turn to face the sound, though it felt like minutes, but I see nothing. It had sounded like some kind of animal was approaching that was heavy underfoot. I slowly back away towards where I had already come from, and some more twigs in front of me snapped. I start backing away a little quicker now, dropping a few smaller bits of tinder, but I don't really care for them right now. The sound is louder now, whatever it is, it's very close. What can it be, a bear? No, there are no bears around here. A wolf? No, they'd be many more than just one of them. I spot a large tree behind me and make a dash for it, tucking in behind the thick oak trunk. My try and silent my breathing a little to remain unheard, but my dash towards the tree had quickened my pulse a little. I hear the cracking get louder and louder, until I hear what could only be the sound of something breaking through the bushes and standing right where I had just stood. I hear very low grunting and patting of feet on the floor. Whatever it is, it's quite big. It's going to find me! I consider calling out to Elsa and Sebastian, but it will definitely hear me. I start frantically looking around for something I could use to defend myself; my head remains frozen stiff, my eyes feel like they are going to wear out with how fast they are searching, but I find nothing.

I know that I must stay hidden as I have now means to defend myself against any animals here, but I can feel my sense of curiousness getting the better of me. I must have a peek! I gently place all the firewood down on the floor next to me and carefully place my hands on the massive oak root and slowly pull myself up to peek over towards where it should be standing, but there's nothing there. What?! I'm sure there was something there.

Just then I feel a warm breath on my shoulder and the back of my neck. It's found me. I slowly turn to face the creature, which quickly covers my entire face with its tongue.

"Euck! Cinnamon!" Great. I was scared stiff by my own horse. She must have followed me from the camp, she never liked being tied up. I gather up the firewood I had dropped and turn back to Cinnamon, "Let's get back to others…"

* * *

I'd be scared stiff if it wasn't for Sebastian being here. We've cut out a small area on the edge of this forest to camp. We'd travelled most of the day, from the troll's valley, sticking to the road, but he suggested that we make camp here, out of view of any travellers. The journey here had been fairly uneventful thankfully, aside from the odd traveller that waved or curtsied to us. Since we'd arrived, Sebastian had transformed an area of bushes and grass into a quaint little place for us to rest. We have erected our tents; Sebastian has his own whereas Anna and I share our own. He suggested that we don't bring our own personal one as it might give away who we are. He does have a point, we're trying to remain anonymous and staying in a purple and yellow tent sporting the Arendelle royal seal is not staying anonymous at all! Instead, he has provided us with a dark green tent with black borders, so from dusk to dawn you have to be right next to it to see it. It's a typical size tent, like a square based pyramid with a lit torch kept safe in a glass lantern suspended from the top. Our sleeping bags have very soft linin inside with a soft, puffy body that is supposed to be thermal and keep us warm. I'm sat on a coincidentally well placed log in front of an unlit fire that has been prepared by Anna and Sebastian; he was showing her how to do it. It kind of reminds me of ones that I had seen in the survival books that I had read when I was younger. I used to fantasize about running away from Arendelle and leaving Anna with Mum and Dad. That way, they could open the gates again and Anna would have been safe, and I couldn't hurt anyone. So I used to read as many survival books as I could so that I could fend for myself when I was out here, though I have a feeling that, with all that I had read, I still wouldn't be as prepared as we are now, thanks to Sebastian.

The sound of Anna returning with Cinnamon trotting closely behind had snapped me out of my daydream. I jump up with slight excitement, all my ridiculous reflections of the past has made me treasure every moment I spend with her, "There you are! And there's Cinnamon!"

"See I told you your majesty, she'd only follow Anna's scent." Sebastian said behind me.

"She gave me quite the fright too!" Anna said slightly out of breath, no doubt from carrying what looks like half the forest in her arms. "Will, ugh… this… do?" she grunted as she dropped the pile of foliage down on the ground and slumped back on the log next to me, her dress now stained in dark greenish mossy stuff that definitely won't come out.

"Hmm…" Sebastian said as he wandered over to the pile, rubbing his chin inquisitively. He takes a knee and begins shifting through the mixture of twigs, branches and larger twigs that are about as thick as my arm! _How on earth did you carry all this? _I ponder to myself.

After a few moments, he finally answers, rather excitingly, "Princess Anna, this is great! There is enough timber here to keep us going for days!"

"Really?" she said back whilst I massage her hands better, "I though wood burns really quickly?"

"To an extent yes but if you build a campfire right only a little wood is needed. Remember we are aiming to use as little as possible."

"Why?" she asks back, "There's so much of it here!"

"Yes but we do need to make an effort to preserve nature around us!"

Anna asks why, again. I however already know the answer from the biology books I used to read. They taught me that trees and plants are actually like the filters of the air that we breathe; they feed on the bad air, and spit out our good air. As I'm thinking this, Sebastian is explaining it to Anna at the same time. He really is very knowledgeable about this sort of stuff, and I can tell that he cares about us; he's not just doing this because it is his duty. Heck, if he were only following orders, he'd have turned us in for running away already!

"Wait- so the flowers eat the air WE breathe out?" Anna briefly summarises.

"They do your highness."

"So in theory, breathing directly on a plant in a pot would help it grow quicker!" Oh no, I think I know where she's going with this…

"Absolutely!" _Shoot…_

"Ha!" my overexcited sister says as she turns to me, "See I told you! Singing to plants does help them grow!"

"I know! I've known for a very long time!" I say, thinking back to my books, "I only said that to stop you singing all the time!"

"Hey! Mum said that I had the voice of an angel!" she said, pretending to flutter her arms.

"Mums are supposed to say that, it's their job!" I said, "As your sister, I am allowed to be more honest." I said with a playful wink. From the day she could practically talk, Anna used to sing all the time. Now she has a beautiful voice, the most amazing voice I've ever heard actually, but when we were kids, it was just unbearable! It's hard to believe that the voice I hear now is the same one twelve years ago.

"Now now girls, no fighting!" Sebastian joked, "We need to have a little talk before we continue- well this." he said waving his hand at us.

"You just gestured to all of us?" Anna said.

"Indeed I did." He remarked.

I giggled a little, "Hehe, sorry Sebastian, what did you want to talk about?"

"_I can sing!_" Anna whispered through gritted teeth, just as Sebastian sat and leant against the tree opposite us and the campfire.

"Now," he begins, "I know it is going to be hard at first, but is absolutely vital that you never call each other by your names anymore."

"Wait- what?" Anna interrupts, "Why?" _She asks an awful lot of questions!_

"Now that we're at the edge of Arendelle's territory, we really must remain invisible to the outside world if we are ever going to make it to The High Isles. Now you two have one heck of a reputation after the history that has been set in stone recently."

"That's true," I said, "I doubt there's a town or city within a thousand miles that hasn't heard of the Ice Queen and her sister she almost killed..."

"…and then saved!" Anna said, "Without you I would have frozen solid, remember?"

I do remember that it was her love for me that finally thawed her heart, but it was only there because I put it there!

"That is all true your majesties," he interrupted us, "But that is not the story that has reach other settlements at all!"

"So what has everyone heard about us then?" I ask. It is an interesting prospect to see out of everything that has happened, exactly what news has spread of us.

"Oh your majesty," he chuckles quietly, "the story of the two royal sisters who's love for each other has spread to almost every town on this continent!" He says. He then reaches into his bag and pulls out a newspaper that he'd bought along the way. "Look at the front page!"

I begin scanning through the page but it doesn't take me very long to realise what Sebastian is talking about. About the large chunk of text, a very large image of Anna and I embracing each other on the deck of the ship that we stood on after the great thaw had been pictured. The main headline read:

ROYAL SISTERS TOGETHER AT LAST, TREASON PLOT THWARTED!

"Wow look!" Anna said, "We're all over the news?" she asks Sebastian.

"You are. Your story has taken the country by storm, and it is spreading! Soon all of Corona will know of their queen's Cousins and their story. There are probably people on their way to Arendelle to interview you two right now!" he says pointing at both of us.

"Wow!" Anna says excitingly, "What does it say about us?"

"I actually haven't read it yet your majesty," Sebastian said, "I haven't had a chance."

"Oh wow! This is so cool! Elsa, we're famous!" She throws her arm around be and, with the other, gestures metaphorically towards the sky, "We'll be known as the unbreakable sisters! Or- no wait, the Un-freezable sisters! That's a word right?" she asks lowering her arm again. Her excitement makes me laugh, but I have already worked out exactly what this means for the three of us.

"So what you mean is, soon everyone from here to Corona will recognise our faces. Instantly."

"That is correct your majesty." He says bluntly, "It would seem our little exploit has become that little bit harder." He rubs his forehead in deep thought for a few moments, then starts again, "for now we stick to the original plan that we'd discussed Queen Elsa: stay out of sight and stick to initials only. From this point on, I'll be known as 'S', you Princess Anna will go as 'A', and you my Queen, 'E'. It will be awkward and difficult at first, but a requirement nevertheless."

"That is going to be so weird calling you two by letters…" Anna says.

"It's a necessary evil I'm afraid, the names; Anna &amp; Elsa aren't very common ones, and they do kind of scream 'royal' wherever they're mentioned now. As for this," he says tapping the newspaper in my hands, "Let me deal with it." He says as he stands up and heads towards Cesaer.

"Where are you going?!" Anna says jumping up from the log.

"Back to that trade post we passed not too long ago, I need to get some things before it closes." He quickly pulls himself atop his horse with ease and gently turns him towards the subtle path we had left in the clearing, "I'll be back very shortly but until then, 'A', why don't you try and get that fire started the way we talked about? It'll be getting dark and cold soon."

"Ooh-ooh okay! Here Elsa look at this!" Anna says eagerly as she pulls my arm and I towards the unlit fire pit.

"'E'!" Sebastian corrects her as he and Cesaer begin hurtling out of the wall of trees and out of site.

* * *

"_Unbelievable scenes took place on the frozen Fjord of Arendelle yesterday as a plot to kill the Queen and Princess of Arendelle was thwarted, with the help of two unlikely friends!_

_Queen Elsa of Arendelle and Princess Anna of Arendelle had that very same day finally broken their silence for the new young Queen's coronation, but celebrations were short lived as Queen Elsa revealed what was possibly the reason they have hidden away for so long; she can harness the power of snow and ice at will! The Queen made a run from her palace, with Princess Anna close behind, before inadvertently firing a ball of ice towards the Duke of Weasleton and his men. She then fled to the North Mountain where she hid for a few days._

_During this time however, Prince Hans of the Southern Isles was plotting a dastardly evil plan to kill both the Queen and her sister; it is believed that he planned to take the throne of Arendelle for himself, though this is not confirmed. Through the clearing of a thick blizzard, the people of Arendelle witnessed the Prince attempt to murder the Queen, but was prevented from doing so by her sister, an ice deliverer by the name of Kristoff Bjorgman and a living, walking and talking snowman called Olaf, believed to be a fragment of the Queens Powers._

_The gates of Arendelle have remained open since, and life in Arendelle has been much like how we are more familiar with it…"_

_CLING-CLING!_

The sound of my new customer quickly reminds me that I forgot to close up shop early. Ah well, may as well serve one more before closing, plus he looks like he is royalty, could receive a nice bonus! "Hello sire! Welcome to Stevie's Wares, can I help you look for anything?"

"Oh I'm no sire my friend!" the very tall, blonde man replies to me, "Just a traveller looking for some spare clothes; I came slightly unprepared as you can most likely tell!" He said, waving his arm in display of his regal clothes, definitely not suitable for travelling!

"Ah I see! Well, feel free to browse!" I said as he began wandering around the shop. I feel at a loss, usually I like to show my customers around, helps to build a business relationship!

A few minutes later, he returns to the counter holding two thick, grey capes with large hoods outlined with blue on one and pink on the other, and two pairs of walking boots, neither looked like they would fit any men I knew of! "Ah! Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Yeah, all these were your last in stock! Did I just catch you?"

"Why yes actually! I was just going to finish reading the news article about the royals from Arendelle before closing up early for the weekend!" I say tapping the newspaper

Something I said must have spooked him; he glanced towards the article and began scanning it. "If you wish to read it, feel free!" I assured him, "I have yet to make a note of purchase!" I say as I open the big logbook to the side of me, "Now, could I please take a name?"

"Seb- err… Simon. Simon Perridew." He stuttered, still very much into reading the text.

"Okay thank you! Let's see, one hooded cape, grey and pink; one hooded cape, grey and blue-"

"_Oh no…" _He says under his breath,"Er, will this cover it? I'm in a rush." The man said as he threw an excessive amount of gold onto my countertop.

"Why yes, and more!"

"That's fine!" He said hastily as he grabbed his stuff and jogged towards the door, shouting "Thank you!" as he left.

That's odd, why did he leave in such a hurry? He could have stolen something for all I knew! Not that I cared, there is enough gold here to cover it! Maybe it was something in that newspaper. I peek over to the page he had left open and continued reading on his behalf-

"_The twisted and thwarted Prince Hans responsible for the attempted High Treason has been imprisoned on a ship set for the Southern Isles, under the watchful eye of the French Foreign Dignitary, to answer to his own country for his actions. However, the ship designated The Jeanne d'Arc, failed to check in to the registered dock it was headed for. It is believed that the ship has been tragically lost at sea"_

* * *

**Hey everyone I'm back!**

**I'm really sorry that this chapter has taken so long to upload, our lecturer at college surprised us with a ridiculously long assignment to do over the holidays, and balancing it with this just wasn't working at all...**

**It's bizarre that it takes me 4 weeks to write a 2,000 word assignment, yet it takes me a few days to smash out a good 4,000 for this story!**

**Anyways, hope you enjoy!**

**All the best,**

**-Dan**


	11. Sparring in the Shadows

**Sparring in the Shadows**

Everything is happening so fast since I have arrived at The High Isles. Plan after plan seems to have materialised out of thin air and there is always a new type of map on my desk here for me to look at. All the time while I'm being supplied with hot coco I'm having to balance one map of Arendelle with all the red circles and lines on it, and another with underground caverns highlighted and entrances I don't recall being there made note of.

All the vicious planning and attack strategies that are being looked through are making me wonder whether or not this is even what I want. I made a plot myself, that spun out of control and ended up with me being so blinded with hatred and selfish greed that I was ready to kill both royal sisters and end the bloodline, just to take control of a kingdom of my own. But then what? Did I think that the people would just embrace their new ruler that just twisted both their beloved and treasured Queen and Princess, or that my brothers would just sit back and let this happen? My train of thought makes me lower my head into my hands thinking about it. I was such a fool.

Just then, an explosion rips through the cavern and zaps me back to reality. I shoot upright on alert and run to the door, throwing it open. The entire corridor is charred black with soot marks randomly spread across the walls and floor. I fear the worst here. As I slowly walk down the hall and witnessed something I actually rather expected from the noise I heard.

The hallway, previously a thick, glossy blue colour from the ice and strange lamps that had been buried within, was now covered in ash and soot, with scorch marks spreading to my door from the 'T-junction' hallway. As I carefully walk towards middle of the adjoining corridor, the balcony that flanked my left had been blasted wide open, allowing full access to the freezing winter air that Kristoff was currently enduring above us. I reach the centre, cautiously peek over the edge, and quickly find that the door to the hall at the end of the corridor behind me has been shot straight into this wall and smashed through with a fiery force, lying in scattered wooden splinters for at least thirty yards, dotted with small fires and embers. What could have done this? There's no way that Cyril would have done this to his own lair! Are we under attack? I quickly check my sword is in its sheath ready before I run towards the source of the explosion.

I emerge in the massive hall and realise I've actually never been in here before. I don't think it was open when Cyril showed me around. It's like an enormous ice igloo reinforced with iron in some places and a centre floor made of stone, with strange markings, mystical markings across it. That and the lit torches that surround the circular floor make me believe that this is some kind of arena? There are also at least fifty of his weird follower things stood around wearing various levels of protection such as armour and small weapons. The iconic purple man is right in the centre with his back to me, shouting at what looks like a terrified follower. I also pick out the familiar stance of Shade stood next to him with a scary looking black bow, trained on the cowering bandit.

"Umm, is everything okay? What was that noise?" I ask, carefully.

"And now you've disturbed our guest as well!" Cyril roars to the cowering follower when he notices me.

"I apologize Lord Cyril! It was just a simple misjudgment on my part, I swear it won't happen again!" the follower begged.

"You're right, it won't." Cyril says coldly as he nods to Shade, who quickly dispatched the poor creature with a swift arrow to the back, killing him instantly! He didn't even have time to realise what was happening behind him.

Cyril shakes his head with apparent annoyance and walks towards me, "Don't ever try and teach others lesser than you your own abilities you have perfected over the years, else this happens!" he says, furiously waving a hand towards the scorched doorway and charred corridor behind me.

"You're teaching them some magic?" I asked.

"Trying," he corrected, "with very little success."

"Yeah, I heard." I joked.

"You!" he shouted, pointing to one of the less armoured followers who steps forward keenly, "clean up HIS mess!" he commands pointing to the lifeless body that rests in the centre of the room.

"Yes sire…" he mumbles, rather disappointedly as he gets to work.

"Shade, dispose of Finn and meet me in my quarters will you?" _he actually asks this time?_

"Yes my lord." He obeys without question.

"Come, walk with me Hans." Cyril says as he turns to me.

* * *

Cyril and I pace slowly through the halls as we discuss some of the topics that appear to be the day-to-day running's of this place. Every morning there is a patrol of the entire main island, with reports that come in from the smaller ones, as well as a morning hunt for game, though that is scarce during the winter. From what I can gather, Cyril is the ruler over all of the High Isles, with colonies spread across the surrounding islands that supply his lair with the resources his movement require. This ranges from food and cooking supplies, weapons and armour and even building materials for his lair. I'm told they also supply him with people and followers to fuel his military.

"The Kremar aren't the most agile, strongest or smartest by far," he tells me as he wanders through his halls regally with his hands behind his back, "but they are very versatile. For example, they pick up human speech very quickly, but can be slow at everything else. They are above all loyal, however."

"The Kremar?" I say, "I don't recall ever reading teachings on those?"

"That's because technically they do not exist." He says, "The Kremar used to live in small communities across the globe, but their stupidity and slow learning made them easy prey to other wildlife. They mostly died out before humanity began making recordings of nature. On the High Isles however, there were few predators and no human settlements, so they have had time to thrive and grow. When I took over they had settled in well, but lacked leadership to allow them to reach their full potential, so I stepped in," he waved a hand in the air, "and look at what they can build when they try!"

I must admit, the construction of this place does impress me. Though it is almost completely made of ice, the integrity of this lair makes me wonder if anyone can even see it, let alone assault it! The design of the icework here however, is nothing compared to Elsa's ice palace; that's completely flawless, though this is an opinion I keep to myself.

"You must have really had an influence on them."

"I like to think so," he replies, "it's a mutually beneficial agreement you see; I provide them with a solid leader and commander, they provide me with a fiercely loyal company. It's a win-win."

I'll give him that; he does have a good set up for a commander here; a self-sustaining fort with an environment and surroundings that makes it both invisible and virtually invincible. The workers are all scared into providing for their leader and they do so with great effort, as if their entire life depended on it. Actually it probably does.

"Well this is me." Cyril said as we approach the hallway leading to his quarters, "I trust you can find your own way back to your room by now?"

"I can I think." I could probably follow back through the soot and charred remains of what was once a balcony to my dorm.

"Good. Tomorrow I'll meet with you again. I feel that Elsa is close now to our residence here."

"Close?" I repeat, "How close is close do you think?"

"She'll be here by the fifth sunrise." He turns to his door, but looks back to me before entering, "Clear up the mess that is now polluting your hallway. I do not wish for my kingdom to befall into such a mess."

"Clear it up? How should I do that?" he wants me to do it?

"Gather together some of the followers from the hall and tell them to do it! You're a prince are you not? That being said, you're not a guest here anymore; time to throw your weight around!"

If by throwing my weight around means to get others to do things for me and literally not lift a finger, then I feel we grew up in very different environments. "Very well, I'll see that it is done."

"Good!" he smiled, "I have work I must get back to. If you find yourself with nothing to do, take these combat drills and… try to teach the militia some of it. They are slow learners." He said handing me a few rolls of parchment.

"Ah, now this I can do! I used to captain the brigadier guard back ho- I mean, at the Southern Isles," I corrected, seeing his subtle look of judgement, "so I am fluent in teaching drills."

"Really? So you're fluent with a sword in hand as well?" he perks up a little at this realisation.

"I like to let others decide how good I am. I measure my skill on statistics."

"Excellent!" he cried with excitement, "Perhaps now Shade will have a sparring partner that will provide an actual challenge!"

My heart drops slightly, "Shade? I er… I don't think I'll be as good as him Cyril!"

"I thought you measure your skill on statistics?" he said, "How can you measure up against Shade if you've not yet seen him in combat? Fair combat, that is."

He has me there; I haven't seen Shade in actual combat before, though I imagine he is an extremely formidable opponent. I start to think of the training he has most likely had to pass, or maybe endure is a better word, to become Cyril's Lieutenant.

"Your silence is my answer; tomorrow at midday, we will hold a tournament to celebrate the future success of our endeavour!" Does he mean this plan with Kristoff? He seems very confident. "You and Shade will both face opponents of increasing skill for the chance of a special prize!"

"I look forward to it!" I say, not too sure which of us I am trying to convince here…

"Of course I might also hold a small endurance challenge for you both. You'll team up together to take on as many foes as you can until one side is exhausted. It'll do wonders for your arsenal!

"That sounds good. Right, I'll get on with clearing up the hall." I say as I turn to head down the corridor, but he calls me back.

"Earlier on you referred to the Southern Isles as your home. Do you not recall our conversation about this?"

"I do. It was a simple mistake, for which I apologise."

"Calling it a home would imply that you have means to return to it. Do you have means to return there Hans?"

"No way! Not the way they treated me before. I wasn't a prince there, I was a slave. An embarrassment of a son to my father and a failure of a sibling to by brothers. I meant nothing there. Here I'm something. I'm a Prince, now a teacher of combat as well! Here I mean something."

"That was the answer I was looking for. Oh- and in the presence of everyone else, it's _Lord _Cyril" He said as he retreated into his quarters and closed the door behind him.

* * *

"I am so excited we are camping outside again! It's been so long since we've done anything like this before!" Anna cried next to me as she took out her forest green nightgown outlined with blue and yellow designs down the sides. It had a little fabric robin sewn into it, which I thought was quite cute.

"I know! I'm not looking forward to the morning though. No doubt Seb will want us to move out early to avoid meeting- well people in general."

Our tent, provided by Seb is actually quite spacious inside. It has little pockets on the sides of the lining for keeping things off the floor, meaning more space for us. Anna's is obviously filled with chocolates and marshmallows wrapped in paper bags whereas I have managed to fit a few apples and a some small tomato and lettuce sandwiches I grabbed from Ernie's, leaving a large tip obviously. Both sleeping bags fit well next to each other, giving enough room for the both of us as well as our bags. Seb also recommended that we zip both of our sleeping bags together, making a double-sized sleeping bag. Apparently, it will help to keep us warm during the night when the temperatures will drop below freezing. I did however bring up the point that I am naturally very cold, for obvious reasons, and I don't ever heat up. Therefore, it would be warmer for Anna to just sleep in her own. Before we left, I made sure that she'd packed one of the hot pillows Gerda made for us when we were young. Of course, I found sleeping next to a leather bag of boiling water extremely unpleasant, but Anna loved it.

We'd decided in Seb's absence to retreat into our tents to relax while we wait. I'm reading one of my storybooks in the glowing light of the lantern suspended above us, while Anna is slipping on a more comfortable set of lounging plimsolls. I do admire her; she's coping so well with all of what has happened. With everything that she has been through- everything I have put her through and also losing her true love that she really deserves. That's enough to finish most other people I imagine.

"What are you reading?" she says, nodding towards the book in my hands. I forgot it was there to be honest. I've been scanning the pages but the words aren't really staying in my head. With my train of thought nowadays I wonder how on earth I'll be able to cope with all the 'Queeny' stuff when I get back- oh…

"Elsa? Earth to Elsa! You okay?"

"Huh? Oh- yeah, sorry. It's one of the storybooks that mother used to read to me when I was young." I begin to recall, "It's about swamp creature who chases people out of his land and the entire kingdom fears him!" I said with a playful smile as I recite what I can remember.

"Really?" She says, confused, "That doesn't sound very nice at all!"

"No it's not all that bad!" I reassure her, "You see, he scares everyone off because it's all that he knows! He's lived an entire life idle in a swamp on his own so he doesn't like anyone else!"

"Is it like a fairy-tale?" she asks.

"Yeah it is!"

"It doesn't really sound like it! It's about a swamp-beast!" she exclaimed.

"True, but he is actually just a big softy!" I said, giving her a playful poke in the belly, "All it took was a princess, and a talking donkey, to bring out his best!"

"See? Us princesses are pretty important!" she said carefully balancing on her feet in the low tent, "I'm gonna go check on my water."

"Okay, I'll come out with you." I said as I close my book, being sure to remember where I was at, and slip it under my pillow.

I emerge from the tent shivering. I had been reading the book lying on top of my open sleeping bag for about three quarters of an hour now, and I didn't realise how quickly the temperature had dropped. The sun had set completely now, and the only source of light that we had was that coming from the campfire and the very dim glows coming from our tent and Sebastian's. I approach the fire to be hit with an ever so comforting wall of heat that sent shivers down my spine. People don't really realise that I do still feel the cold like everyone else, it just never really made me uncomfortable. I still like a bit of heat every now and then, and this is one of those times.

"Is it ready yet?" I say as I sit on one of the logs surrounding the fire as Anna carefully lifts the pot suspended over it.

"Oww ow ow!" she says quickly as she drops the lid on the floor, "Oh it's ready alright!"

Anna left the pot to cool for a few seconds then began carefully pouring it into her pillow. I could feel the warmth from here!

"Ah…" Anna exclaims, "I can't wait to snuggle to that!"

The clippity-clop of hooves on the ground had me upright and alert; being out in the wilderness like this puts me on edge. I was overreacting though; it was just Seb returning from the store with Cesaer. He had a knapsack of supplies with him.

"There you are!" Anna called out, "You know we've been waiting for ages now!"

"My apologies your highness," he said out of breath, "I misjudged just how far the store was." I could tell that something wasn't right in his voice.

"Well…" Anna began, but interrupted herself with a yawn, "I'm gonna go to sleep now you're back." She finished as she heads towards our tent.

"I'll be in in a second!" I called back to her. Once I'm sure she's out of earshot, I turned to Seb, "Hey S? Is everything OK? You look troubled." He really did. He looked up and alert as though he'd been in a fight.

"I just found out some news…" he said taking another breath, "regarding Hans."

"Him?" I'm shocked; I didn't think he'd be causing us anymore bother!

"It was in the last section of the paper," he began as he took a seat next to the fire, "It went on to say that Hans' ship never made it to port."

"What?!" This new catches me of guard. Hans never got back to the Southern Isles? Where is he then? Unless… "What do you think happened?"

"Realistically your majesty there is absolutely no way he has escaped. He was locked in a cell guarded by the French Foreign Dignitary and his best men. I believe that… the ship may have been lost at sea."

"My gosh… all those people… all those families!" I look to him as though he'll say something that will give me comfort in knowing, but he has nothing. I feel somewhat responsible; if I hadn't flipped out at Anna for the engagement to him then he wouldn't have tried to kill us! Although a lot of things wouldn't have happened if I'd just kept quiet- but no! You cannot marry a man you just met! It's wrong!

Having said that though, I still feel as though something isn't quite right about the whole thing. Kristoff gets captured by a Lord Cyril, we set out on this huge adventure to get him back, only to find out that actually, Hans' ship is missing, and him with it. "Just suppose Seb," I started, "Just suppose somehow he has escaped- I don't know, say he struck a deal with a member of the crew or something, where could he go? How could he get there without anyone knowing?"

"I don't know your majesty, but we must remember that the route the vessel took is renowned as being one of the most deadly patches of sea there is." He's right; it's the very same one that my parents took for Corona.

"Just humour me though, where is the nearest plot of land on that route?" I don't know why- maybe it's this crystal I have that's resonating around my neck- but I feel there is so much more to it.

"Well…" he pulls out a map from the sack next to him, "Between Arendelle and the Southern Isles…" he says aloud as he traces a line with his finger across the map, "It's mostly open water aside from a small set of islands there." He says pointing to a small collection of small landmasses further out to sea. "Odd – they're not labelled."

"Is the map up to date?" I ask.

"It is, it's military grade – there are all kinds of lands on this map."

"I do have one idea as to what it could be." I say quietly, pulling out the note that was left on Sven at the Inn, gosh I hope I'm wrong. I place the small map on the other side of the note next to the map that Seb had already laid out over the floor. It only confirmed my suspicions when the two landmasses were the exact same shape and size.

"The High Isles…" he said with a sigh in his tone.

"You don't think…" Could he? "Could he be behind this?"

"I seriously doubt that this is the case your majesty. There is no way he could have made it to the Islands without help."

"Cyril?" I asked, though I'm pretty certain already.

"Possibly… the events that surrounded your coronation didn't go unnoticed. It is possible that he could have targeted Hans for his knowledge of Arendelle as an accessory to Cyril's plot."

My gosh we're in trouble. "Cyril's plan is even more Synyster than we thought if he has Hans involved. Surely he'll have a vendetta against us."

"Well as long as I'm here, I promise nothing bad will befall you or Princess Anna your majesty."

"Please keep this promise for Anna, I couldn't cope if anything more happened to her. She's been through too much already" I beg.

"Are you going to tell her? About Han's I mean?" he asks.

I don't know… I think it would work her up and she needs to be as calm as possible right now. She has been coping so well so far but I don't know how long she will last when things… change.

"I think it's best for her that we keep this to ourselves for now. It will only upset her." I decide.

"I agree." He says back, "Well with that settled, I'm going to go begin planning our route for tomorrow. Why don't you get some sleep for tomorrow My Queen?"

He saying this has made me realise that I am actually quite tired. We've been travelling all day and it's taken its toll. "I guess I am yeah…" I say with a yawn, "Are you sure you'll be alright on your own?" I feel bad about leaving him.

"I'll be fine I assure you! No doubt we'd stay up all night talking and you need your sleep your majesty."

"That could well be the case!" we both laughed. In truth, it has been quite fun chatting away to someone next to an open fire. Alright the conversation hasn't exactly been cheerful but, I don't know, it's nice to connect to someone you can trust, and when I talk to him I feel like I can tell him anything. All my secrets, if I had any, all my stories, and I'd feel safe. Normally I'm always cold, just the way I like it, but right now I'm feeling warm. It's a nice warm as well, not from the fire.

It turns out that we end up staying up a little longer chatting to each other, swapping stories about our lives and what our families were like. I assume that this is the usual sort of stuff people talk about. Apparently the orphanage he stayed in at Arendelle was visited by my mother and I quite frequently, a fete that Anna has recently began taking up.

"Who would have thought that we could have been that close before we even knew each other!"

"I know it's crazy right?" he said laughing, "Queen Idun was always so nice to me, she'd bring me small chocolate biscuits from the palace ovens. It smelled so good! It tasted better though."

"The little cookie men? With drops of green and blue icing that made up clothes for them?"

"That's them!" he said with a smile.

"Wow! Anna and I used to make those ourselves with Gerda!"

"What? You guys made them? I thought it was a proper baker that donated them or something!"

"Well we were professionals back then," I winked at him, "Anna and I used to rule the kitchens when Gerda would show us how to make stuff like cakes and cookies."

"Well from personal experience, you made the best biscuits in the entire country!" I notice that he has stopped being so formal with me now. It makes it feel more personal, which I like.

"Well I don't know about that, though they were pretty darn good…" I joke.

I loved staying up late talking to Seb, but sleep, or rather the lack of it, eventually wins, "Well… I think it's about time I head to bed now too," I say as I stand and stretch, "It's been wonderful talking to you Sebastian." I say with a smile.

"Likewise, My Queen. Sleep well."

"Goodnight!" I say as I turn to my tent where, already from here I can hear that Anna is fast asleep.

I quietly unzip the tent and clamber in. Yup, Anna is sound asleep. She doesn't snore as such, she's just a heavy breather when she sleeps, and already I can see her perfect strawberry blonde hair, that was done up in a perfect braid, begin to unravel. By morning it will look like a roaring fire!

I carefully begin changing into my thermal pyjamas, and the brief moment I spent with bare skin exposed to the outside air gives me the chills. Again, it's not that I don't like the cold, but going from one temperature to another is enough to make me feel the drop.

Once I'm under my covers in my thermals, I quickly begin to heat up again. I could actually get used to this. Warm fires and thermal pyjamas keeping me warm, it's quite nice actually. Maybe I could prefer the heat to the cold? Camping out with Anna again though, that takes the cake. It's been so long, and I wish it were under different circumstances, but I really miss doing stuff like this. Alright, fake camping in the Main Hall was always fun, but doing it properly was the best!

I turn to my left to see Anna, almost peacefully, sleeping next to me. I can't help but wonder what is going through her mind right now. No doubt she's thinking about Kristoff, how can she not? He is her true love – her REAL true love after all! One she deserves to have here, not me whilst we go off on a hunt to find him.

I've so much to think about. She'll find out eventually about Hans, and what if Cyril really won't let me leave with them. What if he doesn't let Kristoff go? What if he doesn't let any of us go? Still, I can relax in the fact that Seb will look after Anna should the worst happen. In this moment of thought I realise something I have forgotten. A key detail that I have missed out…

I forgot to close the tent door…

* * *

The thundering sounds of shields smashing into each other and weapons clashing and swiping filled the hall, as well as cheers and cries of attempted intimidation. Cyril has really pulled out all the stops on this one.

The Hall has been kitted out with wooden stands erected around the main arena floor that creep up the ragged icy walls; a large stone circle almost as big as the top floor of Elsa's castle with various shapes and designs plastered across it. I do notice that this arena is slightly higher than I remember it, as if the whole battleground has been lifted about two feet into the air, and is surrounded by wooden barriers. Lit torches flank the makeshift stadium and towards the back of the hall sits Cyril on a magnificent ice throne, and next to him chained to the wall… Kristoff?

Though it's not the Kristoff I remember. He is much thinner, the tan he had from working recently in the summer of Arendelle has faded and he now has a much paler complexion. He has also lost weight, and generally looks very dishevelled. I feel that if I hadn't been sneaking him these hot cocoas all the time, he may not have made it this far.

"WELCOME! Welcome my friends, to the Shadow Tournament's pre-event training display!" I hear Cyril bellow out as he holds out his arms as to embrace his loving audience.

Being a competitor, I am waiting in the corridor that had recently been blown up as a result of one of his unfortunate subjects failure to grasp magic. This has also been converted into a more suitable waiting area for us combatants, giving us a good opportunity to get to know each other, before we try and kill each other.

"Nervous?" a voice from behind me said, making me jump a little as I turned around.

"Shade?" I stated, though I'm not too sure why, "Um, a little yeah. I used to compete a lot in competitions back at the Southern Isles, but nothing like this."

Shade is wearing black tinted-green armour that covers his chest and back, but his arms and legs are both exposed. "Where's the rest of your suit?"

"This is it. I prefer to be light and nimble on my feet." No surprise there.

"So," I begin, "We will have to take out all of these guys first?" I say looking towards the vast number of followers behind us that are fighting over weapons already.

"Don't worry about it." He says reassuringly, before leaning in closer "These followers are all but expendable, hardly a challenge for us. Anyway the purpose of today is training only."

"Only training?" I ask. "I thought he had just thrown us in the deep end."

"No the actual tournament will be Friday at sundown. this is just to show the people what we are made of. Today is all about showing off" he says flexing his chest, though I'm not sure if he knew he was doing it or not.

"Okay. Well at least we can warm to each other's strategies today can't we?"

"No." Shade retorted. "We will not be trying our hardest today."

"Huh?" Did I hear that right? "We're not trying our hardest? I thought we had to show off?"

"To the audience yes, they will find favourites today and place bets on them. But we would also be training hard in front of our own opponents, which would not be wise."

He does have a point; if they see our techniques today then they may figure out how to counter them in the arena. "So what will we do then?"

"We'll just spar with some of the Kremar. Block and defend, striking and parrying, very basic stuff." He'd said all this looking out through the door in front of us, but now he turns to face me, "And if any of them try too hard, let them beat you today."

"What? You want me to have everyone think that I'm weak?" then it hits me, "so that on the day we can have the upper hand, I see."

"Exactly," he says back, "But maybe it's not such a bad idea that we have our own time to practice. Meet me outside on the ice shelf that Cyril held Kristoff on and we'll train there, you're right in what you say about viewing each other's techniques." Ah good, that's a little less pressure on me then. "Lord Cyril tells me you are fluent with a sword?" he asks gesturing to my blade I have chosen, my own one that is.

"I would rather let that judgment be from others that cannot be bias towards me."

"He also said that you didn't exactly brag about your skill. That's good, it shows you have honour and dignity. I like that in a partner." he nods in approval.

Well, I've managed to impress Shade, that's a weight off of my shoulders. "So what will we be doing in the tournament exactly?" I ask.

"The first event is a paired rotation duel; you and I will take on a team of two and take it in turns in one verses one tag-team style combat." He explains, "I'll begin first and take on Brydon, our first pair's main man. Then I'll tag you in and we'll see if Flint is a match for you."

"Okay then." I am slightly nervous. I have had many competitions back home, but it was with my trainees and involved sticks rather than actual weaponry.

"You'll be fine," he began as if he read my mind, "You say you've had plenty of experience in the field right?"

"In the field?"

"Open battle? War?"

"Well, not exactly. I took place in a lot of competitions like I said but open battle? No."

"Oh. I see." I could feel his instantaneous change of opinion there and then; his voice's judgement burned into my ears and made my stomach drop. I could tell that I had mislead him into believing that I am some sort of battle veteran with a string of fallen foes to my name, not some entertainment spectacle that only fought for sport. I need to win some points here again if this partnership is going to work. "I have had a lot of opponents though, so I'm very confident in my technique!"

"We'll see won't we?"

Another thought crosses my mind while I think about it, "Hey Shade, why has Cyril brought Kristoff down here?"

"I believe that – _Lord _Cyril," he corrected me, "has grown tired of having Kristoff outside serving no purpose other than a bargaining chip. I feel he may have some relevance to this tournament."

Oh dear, whatever Cyril has planned for Kristoff can't be good. I need to find out what's going on.

Just then, the wooden door in front of us had been pulled open and a small Kremer stepped aside to make way for us.

"Showtime!" Shade says as he gives me an encouraging pat on the back, though it almost sent me flying into the arena.

As I'm about to walk in, I feel a small tug on the trouser of my armour. I turn and see that it came from a small Kremar bandit, wearing very thin armour made of bamboo and green plants, homemade by the looks of it. "Shade really is happy that you are his partner you know."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well all the past times he's been partnered with one of us and we can never keep up with him." He says, "Plus he is telling you all these tips and listening to your input! He never does that! Usually he'd just let you fend for yourself; last year he didn't speak to his partner once!"

He does have a point, I've noticed that he is very keen on us both working together well and competing as partners in this tournament. Ah- there's the pressure again!

We, that being Shade, myself and twenty-something competitors all make our way to the centre of the arena with the applause of the large crowd of both Kremar and Human-kind, looks like Cyril spread the word. The atmosphere in here is so alive! As I peer around the massive hall, I see all manners of people that have absolutely no idea who we are or maybe even how good we are, but they're all on their feet cheering and hooting for us! This is what it was like back at the Southern Isles during the competitions I'd take part in, just not with an audience as electric as this! While I do like the admiration from all my fans, I can't help but feel the huge awkwardness of Kristoff's presence here too. Seeing a complete contrast from the joy and excitement of the crowd, mirrored by his misery and endless torment of no doubt wondering what his perfect Anna is doing right now.

"Cyril always pulls out all the stops when he organises a competition." Shade muttered to me.

"Yeah this is impressive! Didn't he only come up with this whole idea of a tournament yesterday?"

"He did, but word spreads quickly about these events. No one misses these."

"I believe that!" I say looking at how many people are in here, "Looks like most of the colonies are here!"

"They are." He said back, "The main reason people flock here is because if they don't then Lord Cyril will cut their resources."

"Wait- What?" did he mean that? "He actually forces them to come here?"

"It's more of a scare tactic." He responds, "A way to remind people that he is their ruler and to never try and change this."

"Oh. And here I was thinking I was famous." I joke.

"Do well today and you will be."

We reach the centre of the arena and one of Cyril's bandits closes the heavy gate behind us with a heavy 'clunk', fully enclosing us within the confines of the stadium. The surround is a three-lined fence made of thick bamboo, strong enough to throw foes into without breaking it, I decide. Cyril lets the audience continue with their cheers for a few moments before he eventually stands and takes a step forward. The crowd automatically hush and he raises his arms out to us, his entertainment, in his arena.

"Combatants!" he calls out to us, "Today is a very big day! For today, a duo of champions will be found. Champions that will defeat all foes that stand aside them now and win this tournament!"

With that being said, the other Kremar in the arena with us eagerly look around at each other; some are shoving shoulders and elbows and sizing up against each other. Shade and I simply look up towards our host, not moving a muscle.

"These heroes will embark on a most noble quest, through unknown, perilous territory, defeating all those that stand in their way, and retrieve a treasure for me. This treasure will have no value, no meaning and no incentive. However, it has no value to man because it holds something priceless in its existence, something beyond any kind of price ever created. Therefor whoever will retrieve this artifact for me will reap…" he pauses dramatically for a few seconds, drawing us all in, "in the Rights of the Warrior!" he cries out as he holds up a scroll in his hand, wrapped in gold and red ribbon.

I look to Shade and see something I never would have expected from Cyril's right hand man; his jaw has dropped. He can't believe what has just been offered to him.

"I didn't think there were any left in the world…" he slowly mutters to himself.

"Umm…" I quietly begin, "What exactly is the Right of the Warrior?"

He turns to me with a look as though I've just committed High Treason- again. "You don't know…" He pauses and thinks for a second, giving a quick glance to the Kremar over his shoulder. "I'll tell you somewhere private." I can tell he doesn't feel comfortable discussing it here; none of the others have really reacted to Cyril's announcement, so I doubt Shade wants them to know. I think they're just keen on going on an adventure.

"Now, today is about showing us, both my guests and I, what it is you can do! You've all had your choice of weaponry and armour, so you should be more than comfortable with your equipment!" with that, he gestures behind us, where some workers with arena equipment were waiting to fit the arena with dummies and various apparatus that we could use to show our skills. "My guests!" he turns to the audience surrounding him, "my friends will be coming round with refreshments and betting stations, so please help yourselves. Watch carefully and find a favourite that you could win big on!" then back to us, "Let the training begin!" he says. He then flicks his wrists and the many torches in the hall ignite with a strangely calming green flame, though on closer observation they are slowly alternating between different colours.

The arena then springs to life as Kremar start fighting each other and small mosh pits start appearing. Shade quickly grabs my arm and mutters, "Remember what I said! Show them nothing!" as he then heads over towards a practice dummy. I decide to do the same, but a Bandit stands in my way, "Come on then! Let's see what you've got Princy!" he taunts. I know I can't just say no else people will suspect something, so I take up my stance.

We trade a few light blows, I obviously hold back and only really catch him, so it's actually quite challenging. I keep seeing windows where I could finish with swift disarm, but I can't so it's horrible. I continue a rotation of dodges and taking hits, providing him with ample time to plan his attacks accordingly. Usually I'd never allow my opponent this amount of time to think. He dashes again, to which I instinctively step to the left, sending him out towards one of the sparring groups behind me. I regret this already; if he dropped his sword then I win, which can't happen. He hops to his feet, sword firmly clutched in his grasp. This guy is not giving up, so I can only see one way of finishing this, and it sucks for me. I let my guard down and invite him for an easy disarm. He strikes my arm hard and my sword goes flying out of my hand, hitting a combatant in the back of the head and knocking him out cold, to which his opponent cries with victory.

"Ha! Flint wins against a Prince! I'll be on that quest in no time at all! You're weak!" he spits at me and heads off. I hear some of the spectators laughing and some of them are even ripping up their gambling tabs already. I daren't look towards Cyril, but I do notice Shade observing through the crowd of combatants, who gives me a subtle nod of approval.

Humiliating.

* * *

"Well done for earlier Hans, I know it wasn't easy swallowing your pride like that in front of everyone, but it will be worth it on the big day."

"I hope so." I say back, "That was far too embarrassing."

The training session, or rather the most embarrassing moments of my life, finished a few hours ago. Seven of the combatants had to be removed for either foul play or injuries. Flint got too brave and took on his partner, Byron, who shortly after was removed for actually trying to kill Flint. Shade and I made our way to the shelf he mentioned with the intention of having our own training session. It's so cold out here, but Shade insisted saying that it would improve my stamina if we trained in the cold. I can't believe that Kristoff endured this for goodness knows how long… Shade brought some dummies from the arena with him, as well as some contraptions that make them move about and lunge towards us.

"Right," he begins, "now that we are alone we can really train."

"Good, I can't believe I had to let Flint beat me like that."

"Only so that you can show him the same fate on Friday. Now, First let's talk tactics. I want you to show me how you would face an opponent."

"You… you want me to fight you?"

"I can take it Hans, no holding back okay?" He says rather contradicting me, "I want to see exactly what my partner can do!"

"Okay then!" I say nervously.

I draw my sword and nod to him. He then draws his; a black handle with a short, shimmering silver blade that looks like it's brand new, though I imagine that it has seen more than enough combat for me to feel intimidated by.

We slowly pace each other; my eyes remain solely fixed on his sword. In training in the Southern Isles, my instructor always told me 'look in the eyes of your opponent once to read their intentions; to defend or attack, then transfix on their blade. The eyes can't kill you, but the blade can.' These words ring truth, watching the blade allows me to block or parry more precisely. It's a good job as well as it is Shade that swings first.

He lunges towards me pulling his sword to his left for a sideways strike. Ready to anticipate this, I bring mine to my left and sidestep, swinging into his strike and making our blades crash together. The connection is louder than I thought and the sheer force of his strike reverberates through my blade and into my fingers, rattling my bones. I appear to have struck with a good amount of power as he too staggers back slightly.

"Good! One main mistake people make is not putting enough power into their blocks!" he says as he pirouettes for another strike. I know that there will be too much force behind this one to block it, so I crouch down low and ready my sword. Just before the contact, I dash to move with his slash to absorb a lot of the impact and allow the force of the strike to shove me sideway. However, as I am already moving with the attack, the momentum is greatly reduced and I am able to rollout of the hit and get back to my feet again.

"Good!" he cries out, preparing another attack. I'm shocked at his immense speed! I knew he was fast but I have never actually seen him in combat before! This attack however, he only raises his sword. As strong as he may be, no one can create a powerful strike with this. His momentum and stature is all wrong; he must know this! I use this to my advantage and sidestep towards him, shoulder first. My insight was well placed; I block his attack with little resistance and ram him hard in the chest, though I feel his armour take the brunt of it, though I do manage to wind him. He staggers back slightly, though his blade never leaves his front.

"Excellent…" I hear him smile through gritted teeth; have I impressed him or irritated him?

I use this precious time to begin an attack of my own. I pull my sword to my left and begin to sideswipe with a backhand swing, to which Shade swiftly counters with a block and swings with his unarmed fist, which I quickly backpedal to avoid. He pirouettes again; I parry the same as before, but this time I swing my fist at him. He saw this coming and blocked with his forearm, to which I quickly swing again.

This time I make light contact with his torso; my blade smashes into his armour with a very loud tinny smash. "One – Nil!" I say.

"Ha! Good hit!" he cries out before swinging again. This is not the Shade I knew before; his harsh, violent and dangerous exterior has stepped aside, making way for this energetic and excitable person who is loving the fact that he has a worthy opponent for sport.

For the next few moments, we continue to trade swings and dodge each other's attacks. We continue to duel for about half an hour, learning about how the other person prefers to attack and dodge. Shade prefers to dodge a lot and strike when his foe tires, whereas I prefer parrying and striking close.

Eventually we find a natural stopping point. After blocking one last attack of his, I backpedal one last time and lower my weapon, to which he does the same.

We both catch our breath for a few minutes, I'm actually quite proud of myself in the fact that I have managed to challenge him enough to the point where he is out of breath! Mind you, I'm exhausted too…

"Ah Hans!" he cries out, "That was just exhilarating! I haven't had a buzz like that in a long time! You are a very competent fighter!"

"You're… not too bad… yourself!" I say between breaths. We're still calming down, so we don't notice Cyril emerge from the large icy archway.

"Well," he begins, "That was quite the show!"

"My Lord." Shade says with an uneasy bow. Gosh I really did test him!

"At ease Shade," he says raising one hand, "Now this?" he says gesturing to the two of us, "This is good. I assume this is preparation for Friday's tournament?"

"Yes My lord," Shade replies, "In part."

"In part?" I repeat.

"I admit, part of me just wanted to see if you could handle yourself, and you really can!"

"Yes you can!" Cyril agrees, "That was exceptional skill from the both of you, I thought you were holding back in the arena Hans, when you let Flint, of all creatures, better you."

"Shade recommended I don't show my best until it's competitive."

"Very wise Shade." He says, "Now, continue your session, and then Shade, I require you in my quarters after."

"Yes my lord." Shade acknowledges.

"Until then, have a good session! I bet your happy to finally have a decent sparring partner!" he nods to Shade.

"Relieved is a better word I feel my lord." I like all these compliments…

"Excellent, carry on." he says as he turns and leaves.

"Well," I begin, "We've impressed him!"

"You mean you have impressed him," he says, "He knows what I can do, but you were unproven."

"I guess."

We then continue to train well into the late hours of the evening. Shade shows me some advanced techniques that he has picked up over the years, whereas I show him some of the things I am best at. It's surprising how different our techniques are, yet we are both learning different styles at the same time! I'm showing him some of my methods that may help him conserve stamina, whilst he is showing me some high-power, heavy attacks and aggressive movements. We practice what each other has taught the other on the test dummies, and occasionally repeat it on one another. I must admit, it has been very fun to practice these things with someone else that isn't one of my condescending and bullying brothers. I feel like I have really bonded with him today, but I'm more looking forward to Friday than anything else; to see if we're good enough working together.

Shade has also been telling me the structure of the event. First, he and I will face another pair in a tag-team style match, where he must disarm his opponent, and then I'll step in and disarm mine. Second, another two verses two, only this time we will both be fighting at the same time; first pair to disarm the other wins. Thirdly, Shade's personal favourite, we will go up against a never-ending band of mercenaries that will keep coming at us; we must simple disarm as many as possible with the most flair. He also said that there is a fourth event every time but it's always a special event that no one knows anything about. Even Cyril won't, as he selects an event randomly from a selection of enclosed envelopes. It's always the main event, and a real showstopper.

Eventually we decide that we have done enough practice to be fundamentally prepared for the tournament. I'm exhausted, both mentally and physically, and Shade too looks like he's done for the evening. My lungs and throat are burning from the many gallons of freezing cold air I have been gulping in throughout the session.

"I think we shall call it there, yes?" he suggests.

"I agree. I think we're pretty ready!" I really do, we've covered so much today, and I've more than warmed my technique after so much time of not fighting anyone at all. The most action I really saw was fighting that massive snow-beast outside Elsa's palace.

"Right," Shade starts, "I suggest you chill for the rest of the evening and get a good night sleep. You'll ache tomorrow, but eat a full breakfast of fish and you'll be fine."

"Got it."

As I help him pack away some of the stuff we'd been using, a thought crosses my mind that has been for quite a while now. I feel now is as good of a time as ever to ask Shade. "Hey, Shade? What do you think Cyril has planned for Elsa and Anna when they get here?"

"I believe he intends to harness The Queens power to bolster his own and… well I don't know what he will do with Anna, he mainly wants Elsa."

"That makes sense I guess, but then what? Will he let them go once he's done with them?"

He pauses folding up the rope in his hands before giving his answer, "You've seen enough of our Lord now. Tell me, what do you think he will do?"

I think I know already. My heart does sink a little, I know I'm helping Cyril get what he wants, but only because he has been more than generous in his hospitality. I don't think I really want to… cause harm to the Royals. Gosh knows I've done enough as it is! "Do… do you think he will… kill them?"

"Put it this way," he says, "Lord Cyril is a genius Commander and an excellent leader. This means he is also an excellent decision maker, and he's not gained the reputation he has for being one for leaving loose ends… untied."

"I see…"

"Still!" he exclaims, "That's the least of your concerns! You should be focusing on the big day; it's only two days away!"

"I am, don't you worry." In fairness, I am lying. I am torn at the thought of killing Anna and Elsa. Surely there must be a way that Cyril gets what he wants without having to kill them. There is however another question I'd like to know the answer to.

"So what is so special bout this 'Right of the Warrior?"

He pauses once again before giving me his response, "The Rights of the Warrior is a Bill of Rights, signed by the highest kings of men and the most powerful of the Gods, that essentially permit the blessed to do whatever it is they please. The blessed has the right to take what is needed from wherever it is needed, whenever it's needed. It also allows the bearer to kill whenever it is needed, however it is needed and as often as it is needed. It permits the blessed to also take any land, kingdom or even country as their own, claiming of the lands earnings and resources. All with full protection of any laws written by Kings or Gods, no questions asked."

"What?" I exclaim, "It sounds like a pass to do whatever the heck you want?"

"It is. It is also a magical enchantment that grants the blessed with massively enhanced abilities such as elemental control, inhumane strength and stamina, extreme speed and agility, as well as self-healing wound regeneration." He then slowly turns to me, "With these rights, you'd be unstoppable."

"Woah..." As great as that sounds, I can't help but see an error here. "Um... I hate to bring it up but I do notice an elephant in the room here..."

"Up here?" he says confused, "There are no elephants in these parts."

"No- it's a figure of speech. It's like there's an obvious problem that no one want's to bring up."

"Oh. Well why not say that then?"

"I don't know? It's just a saying!" I say, "But I digress, there are two of us and one scroll."

"Yes, but as a Lord, Lord Cyril can bless us both with these abilities. We're good now, but imagine what we'd be like with those... powers!"

It is a frightening thought that such a thing exists. I wonder if my father knew anything about this, or if Anna or Elsa's parents did.

"If we had that blessing," Shade began again, "You could travel to the Southern Isles and Claim it as your own! No one can resist you!"

Now that's a thought I entertain. My own brothers, kneeling to me as their ruler. Catering to my every whim. The lonesome Hans, a waste of space and time to the family, now the ruler of both the family itself, and the land and people it had claimed. A grin creeps onto my face, "I like the sound of that..."

"It's settled then," Shade says, now having stopped packing up, he has turned to face me. "You and I will henceforth be known as allies and partners, eternally trusting and loyal. No one will stand between us or our goal. My fight is your fight, and yours is mine. Your friends are my friends, and your enemies are my enemies. We will destroy anything that may affect this bond and, when we receive the blessing, we will be almighty and powerful. Whether you are a quarter a mile away, or halfway across the globe, I will stand by you, as your friend and as your brother."

I find his heartfelt declaration to me a little awkward but I can tell that this is a statement that is important to him, and one that he doesn't make to just anyone. I'm actually humbled that he has said this, and he is one heck of an ally to have in a pinch!

"Thank you Shade. I'll do everything in my power to see that the Rights of the Warrior become ours."

"As will I."

Strange. When first we met, Shade had choked me out, tied me up and kidnapped me back to the High Isles as his prisoner. But things change and now, here he is, fully devoting himself to our partnership to find this thing for Cyril, and in return have a god's blessing bestowed upon us to permit us humans to become near immortal!

For now though, I'll be working with my newly found brother to put on a good show for our blackmailed guests and their host.

* * *

**Hey guys, I'm back!**

**Well actually I didn't go anywhere as such, I just really haven't been able to upload anything recently because I've simply been so busy with my work and with other stuff as well. I'm in a band now, so as lead guitarist i have tracks to learn as well as my college assignments too, so sadly this story has had to take a back seat.**

**But I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It's a little longer then usual, plus did you spot the little easter eggs I threw in (seemed appropriate given the time of year!)?**

**There's an obvious Shrek reference, but my idol, the lead guitarist of Avenged Sevenfold has also made a somewhat cameo in this chapter!**

**Still, hope you enjoyed and I hope you all had a great Easter! Let me know what you think of the Chapter with a review or PM and as always, see you next time!**

**All the best,**

**-Dan**


	12. Just Another Face in the Crowd

**Just Another face in the crowd**

My brain is battling it out with my heart as to whether or not I should tell Anna about the possibility of Hans playing a part in this plot, though now I'm bordering on certainty.

Seb woke us up after sunrise, so about 7am I guess? I have recently had wake ups like this for meetings with council members and royal business, but Anna has always slept in until around 10ish. I am ready to leave the tent, dressed and ready to eat, all while Anna is still opening her eyes. The sun had been up for an hour or so and our tent is already starting to heat up, quite uncomfortably. Could this heat just be uncomfortable for others too? This feels awfully stuffy. I start to get ready to get out of here, when I notice that Anna, lying next to me, has fallen back to sleep; her hair looks like a Lion's mane that has been struck by lightning!

"Come on sleepy head!" I whisper poking her side with my elbow, "We need to get breakfast! Aren't you hungry?"

"Mhhh munnnn mhhn…" was all I could get out of my tired little sister, flanked with a few snores.

"Okay, I guess I'll just let Seb know that you don't want Bacon and Eggs for breakfast." I say as I leave the tent. I'm instantly greeted by a much more pleasant morning breeze that both warms and cools as it glides through trees, natures alarm for all the beautiful birds and butterflies that must immediately get to work building nests and peacefully waking up the rest of the forest with a delicate birdsong melody, one that seamlessly glides its way through the thick foliage of trees. Seb is also out here and is hard at work cooking breakfast on an open fire in the centre of our cute little campsite. He notices me and the absence of my sister, straight away.

"Good morning your majesty" he begins with a courteous nod, "Where is princess Anna?".

"Hang on." I say with a sly smile, aware that the scrumptious scent of bacon sizzling on the pan will make its way to my hibernating sibling in three… Two... One-

"I'm ready! I didn't miss food did I?" At that very moment the tent door flies open and Anna comes flying out of it, dressed and ready to eat, though her eyes look ready to close again, "I'm ready!" she says with a quick intake of air, still adjusting her hair tie.

"No you didn't sleepy head!" I say sarcastically, before turning to Seb, "Good morning Sebastian," I finally answer him with a smile, "How did you sleep?"

"Very well thank you," he says giving the bacon a turn, "How about you two?"

"I slept soooooo heavy!" Anna said with a yawn at the end, "Those sleeping bags are so comfy and the hot water bottle that Gerda made is so good!" she says as she slowly takes a seat on one of the fallen logs around our makeshift oven.

"Good! I hope you're both hungry!" he says and begins to cook some eggs on a slightly smaller camping pan. The smell of cooked breakfast and the aroma of the fresh forest air and dewdrop grass were battling it out to sooth the thoughts about our conversation last night that were currently plaguing my mind.

I take a seat next to Anna, who promptly rests her head on my shoulder with a yawn. I lean my head on hers also, scratching my tired sister's hair. I think my head is full of troubled thoughts, but goodness knows how she's coping with all this. She is different since we left Arendelle; we've only been travelling for a day, yet she seems quiet, content and lonely, even with me here. It kills me to see my poor sister like this. The sooner we get to Kristoff the better; that monster had better keep to his word, but I know what I must do if he doesn't. I'd be lying if I said I would be overjoyed at my 'Plan b', but I will do whatever it takes to keep my sister's life as best as it could possibly be, even if it means I'm not there to see it.

"Looks like someone still wants their bed!" Sebastian jokes pointing to Anna, who replies with a gentle nod of the head and starts to close her eyes again.

"Anna, you must stay awake!" I say to her as I gently lift her head up off of my shoulder, "we have to leave as soon as we can!"

"Your sister's right Princess Anna, and to do that," he says handing her a plate with fried bacon and eggs on it, "You'll need to keep your strength up!"

The smell of the food in front of her slightly perks Anna up, and she leans forward to begin eating as Seb puts my breakfast together and hands it to me.

"Mmm…" I say as I get a whiff off the aroma of cooked food, "this smells delicious!"

"Hmph, don't humour me your majesty," he grins, "Its only camp-cooked food!"

"I'm not! It really is good!" I say as I munch on the bacon. Anna and I try and eat healthy when we can; with her, it doesn't really matter as it seems to just disappear into her dark abyss of a stomach and never has anything to show for it, but I'm not that lucky and I actually have to slightly watch what I eat. So to be eating fried bacon and eggs feels heavy on my belly, but it's just too good to turn down.

"So… Mph…" Anna tries to begin whilst still gulping down her food, "Where are we heading to from here?" Bless her, so eager to be leaving, though I think we all are.

"Well," Sebastian answers, "I was thinking about travelling to the next village not far from here, a small settlement called Timberwood. From there we can hire a carriage to take us directly to the Docks so we can head to the city of Corona."

"Wait- what?" Anna suddenly interjected, pausing with her bacon in mid-swing to her mouth, "Docks? We're travelling on water?"

"Well, we kind of have to!" I say to her, "It's on the other side of the north sea!"

"I know that!" she says, "I just… never realised we'd have to sail there…"

Oh no… How could I have been so blind? Of course she doesn't want to sail, not with what happened to our parents. The fact that it is the exact same route they would have taken only makes it worse. I notice her start to tear up now, but these are tears of fright, not sadness. She's not terrified of travelling on the sea, just THAT sea… The North Sea. I hold my sister in a hug that wraps up her head in my arms and let her silently sob into my coat.

I turn to Seb, "Is there no other way of getting there?" I'm not exactly overjoyed about that particular route either, it will be hard on the both of us in more ways than one.

"Short of travelling straight through Fallcoach Valley which is back the way we came from, then going around Shore's Supply Depot and travelling halfway across Europe I'm afraid not, and time is of the essence here."

I was afraid of that. "Well," I say to Anna, gently lifting her chin and averting her gaze from the ground to me, "It will only be two days out at sea! You can sleep through most of it anyway can't you?"

"I won't be sleeping on that boat." She says bluntly with a sniff. I wish there was something I could do, use my powers to make the ship go faster or something. I've only just gotten control of my powers though, so that wouldn't be wise would it…

"I don't mean to worsen the situation your majesties," Seb continues, "but from Corona we will need to take another ship to approach the High Isles. They will be inaccessible from land."

"I don't care about oceans and boats," Anna says, "just… just this one." She says with her head still buried into my arms, slightly tilted to speak.

"I promise you that this journey will only be a short hop across the sea, and then on the way back we will find a different route." Seb says trying to reassure her. She simply straightens up again and wipes her eyes in a rag.

"We'd better." She mutters, without even looking up.

With that settled, we continue eating in silence. Awkward silence. I really do wish there was another way, but only Corona will be able to provide us with a ship capable of navigating the narrow ice plains that apparently surround the High Isles. Anyway, maybe we can spend the night with our family over there, time permitting.

The awkwardness doesn't lessen as we eat, but it's Anna that breaks the silence, "So what happened to only using initials anyway?"

"I'm glad you picked up on that!" Seb points out, "I figured it is pretty ridiculous using codenames in our own campsite, but once we leave it'll have to stick again."

"Fair enough," I say, "It's gonna be so strange calling you 'A' sis!" I say giving Anna a playful nudge.

"You think that's bad? People say 'A' all the time in public and 'Hey' sounds just like it! When have you ever heard anyone shout 'E' out loud? Or 'Eeeee'?" She does have a point.

"Well…" I contemplate, "if you put an 'L' on the end they could be shouting 'eel'!" This makes her giggle.

"Why would anyone need to shout 'eel' aloud?"

"I don't know!" I say, "Someone might have lost their pet eel? Or 'Look over there! It's an eel'!" Now I'm just talking rubbish, but it is working as Anna cracks another smile.

"Okay, you've got me there!" she smiles.

We finish up our breakfast before we start taking down the tents. We took all of our packed food out of the tent and replaced them in bags and sacks that we'd brought with us for travelling. I said I don't mind taking down our tent by myself if Anna would like to go and tent to the horses before we set off for Timberwood; anything to take her mind off of it. It seems to work, as she is quite happy talking to Cinnamon and Cesaer. Percy was drinking some water on his own; leading me to believe that there is already disturbances with the two Stallions around Cinnamon, who is almost ready to go into heat.

It was at this point that I realise a crucial error in my plan of genius; I have absolutely no idea how to pack this think once it's down. Come to think of it, how does it come down? I look over to see Seb pulling out thick hooks from the ground that let out a bunch of thin rope, so I'll do that.

As I bend down and start to pull on the hook, I realise just how much of a struggle this will be. It's been hammered in hard and I can just about get my fingers around the curve of the hook but, no matter how hard I push, it will not budge! I pull harder, putting all my strength into it- "OW!"

I lose my grip on the hook and send myself flying backwards, landing square on my backside. Owww… that really hurt!

Seb hurries over to me, "Your majesty! Are you alright?" boy, if I had a dime for every time I've heard that in the past month…

"Yeah I'm fine, I just… lost my grip on that hook!" I wanted to cover up the fact that I had essentially tripped myself up, but I felt like I didn't need to lie to him.

"Here," he says holding out his hand, "let me help you up."

I gratefully accept his offer and take a hold on his hand, to which he swiftly pulls me back up, with quite remarkable strength! Not enough that it hurt but just enough to swoop me off of the floor and back to my feet. Although I stumble yet again and fall towards him with my feet giving out as well; I didn't expect him to pull me up so fast! He is quick to react though, and catches me in his arms. How cliché…

"Oh- I'm sorry-"

"No- I am…"

"Here, let me-"

"It's okay, I got it."

We quickly exchange condolences as I awkwardly find my feet for the second time in this very moment. Though I must admit, it did feel nice having someone to catch me; technically, he is supposed to sweep me off of my feet, not back on to them…. I know that it is horribly cliché (seems to be quite a few of them recently), but I've never had someone there for me except for Anna. It did feel very warm and comfortable in his arms though, the kind a girl could get used to… No! Snap out of it Elsa, you can't be thinking about this! This trip is for Anna and besides, what happens if I get too attached and it turns out I have to stay at the High Isles! I can't risk it.

"I think I may have hammered the hooks into the floor a little too hard!" he says with a cute little shrug.

"No no- it's fine, really! It kept the tent down didn't it!"

"I guess it did! Do you need a hand?"

"I might do, yes please!" I say with a smile.

It was then that we both notice how we are still in each others arms. We release our grip awkwardly and he gets to work.

Seb went around and pulled out all of the hooks for the tent, which started to cave in on itself. Well, the rest of this should be easy!

I thank Seb for his help and he goes and finishes taking the remainder of his own tent. I start to take out the stick frames that form the spine of the tent but one is being particularly stubborn. I pull and pull but it just won't give! I stop pulling to catch my breath and peer over into the ground. Yep. Sure enough, yet another peg was hidden away. I pull this one again, but to no avail.

There must be a way that I can pull this out without help! There is no way I'm calling him over again to help. I'm a Queen for goodness sake! Surely, I can figure this out myself? I look around for a stick or something I could wedge under the hook for leverage, but there is nothing strong enough.

How pathetic; the Queen of Arendelle, wielder of Snow and Ice, defeated by a lowly tent peg. How can I be queen if I can't even- _ah… ice!_

I look to make sure that no one is looking and focus my energy into the tips of my fingers. I tap the ground around the peg and just imagine it freezing solid. Sure enough, my newly found control over ice has prevailed, and the ground around the peg freezes solid. I then strike it with a small pebble I found nearby and it smashes and crumbles into bits, leaving the peg free from the ground's grasp!

Unfortunately, this does mean that the only force acting on the peg is the rope it was keeping tight and taut, which elasticated hard, launching the peg into the air. It flies straight up before gravity brings it to a halt and it falls back down to the floor- right where Seb's standing!

Thinking quickly, I stood up and prepped my hands again. This time I launch a snowball with pinpoint accuracy towards the peg, colliding with it in mid-air and sending it off into the forest. Seb looks up in thought at the sound of the peg landing into the trees and bushes over there, but thinks nothing more of it and continues on his tent.

As if that actually worked! I can't wait to tell Anna that later! I make a mental note of where the peg landed, remembering that I must collect that before we leave.

I quickly scurry to get my tent ready for packing just before Anna returns with the horses, all watered, fed and ready to hit the road.

"Woah! You work fast!" she said, referring to my flat packed tent, to which Seb gives me a subtle wink.

"Hehe, what can I say?" I giggle, quietly acknowledging Seb's gesture.

We, being Sebastian and I, finish packing up our tents and begin bagging up all of the food and equipment. I left out sandwiches in the tent's inner pockets but they won't spoil that way. Anna then helps me carry our sack of stuff and throw it over Percy's back. I was expecting a whelp from him as the immense weight dropped onto his back, but he barely even noticed it! I always seem to forget just how strong these horses are. Seb than lifts his over Cesaer with ease; that must be so much heavier than ours!

He helps us both up on our horses, though we really don't need it I still accept his help. His firm grasp reminds me that, even though with all the negativity that is around us, I can still feel safe with a friend like him… If that's what I should call him…

"Hey 'E'?" Anna winks at me.

"Huh?" Anna catches me off guard, "Oh- right. Yes 'A'?" I say with a smirk.

She lowers her tone slightly, "I'm guessing that you wouldn't want anyone finding this?" she says handing me a sharp object that had been completely frozen solid. The tent peg!

"Oh man!" I say as I quickly grab it off of her, "I completely forgot about this! Thanks 'A'!"

"Won't that melt?" Anna asks.

I shrug. I honestly don't know. I know that I can defrost certain things that I freeze, like the sheets in my room a few days ago. There's still so much about my powers that I need to learn. This Cyril character seems to have powers of his own, if only he wasn't our adversary then he could teach me maybe? But no. His first mistake was taking Hans; the second was upsetting my sister. He is my enemy, though I am ashamed to say I'm afraid of the confrontation that will no doubt happen. I've said that I will openly give myself in exchange for Kristoff and Anna's happiness; I just hope I am brave enough to do it if the time comes.

_Me and my train of thought! _I think to myself, still lost in thought staring at this frozen peg, pondering its future, wondering if it will keep its icy hardiness for the remainder of this journey.

I can't help but wonder the same thing about myself.

* * *

We continue to travel through the forest; Sebastian, Anna and I. The scenery seems to never change, just tree after tree, the occasional signpost for Timberwood and other various villages, though this one is the closest, and the odd person on their daily travels. Anna and I have put on our hooded capes that Seb got us, and turn our heads slyly away from any passer-by's, for fear of being recognized; we are officially fugitives.

One thing that has changed is the weather. The sunshine from this morning has faded away and has been replaced with grey rainclouds that have opened up above us, drenching everything in our little convoy, including us.

I felt awful. Seeing all these friendly people give a courteous nod and the occasional greeting as we pass, and we completely ignore them; shutting them out. I look to Anna and her eyes tell me she is feeling the same. If anyone recognizes us out here, authorities will know where to look once we start to go 'missing', if we haven't already.

The path's flanking treeline eventually curves over a cliff edge and, from here, we can see that it winds down a slight incline towards a settlement mainly compromised of warehouses and market stalls that are paired with small houses for the residents, though these are all dwarfed by the massive dock that aligns the coastline. Piers stretch out into the opening of the harbour and stop just before where I guess you could say the sea properly began. The horizon now turned to a grey, overcast sky, parallel to a churning ocean with a few boats off to the distance. From here, I can also make out rainclouds in a few patches over the water, far out to sea.

"Oh!" Seb begins in a hush tone, "See that vessel moored in slip C?"

My sister and I look for a second but quickly decide that we have absolutely no idea what he just said.

"Ummm…" Anna mutters rather apologetically under her breath.

Cyril just grins and tries again, "See the boat parked in the third little dock over there? The one with the mermaid statue on the front?"

"Oh- Yeah! I see it!" I say, acknowledging the boat he means.

"All you had to do was say mermaid…" Anna quietly mumbles to him with her hands on her hips.

"Apologies." he says as he climbs down from Cesaer, nodding for us to do the same. "That will be ours that we will take to Corona." He turns to Anna, "I picked it because it is the fastest there. I actually didn't realise that she would be available, so it should take no longer than a day out at sea."

"Thank you." she says, though she still isn't too happy about it.

I lean in and whisper to Seb, "A day? How can we cross the North Sea in a day?"

"Simple, we won't stop. No breaks and constant full-sail sailing will get us there fine."

"But, I don't know how to sail! Neither does Anna, so that would mean you'd be sailing nonstop!"

He turns to me and gently places a hand on my shoulder, "I'll be perfectly fine your majesty. Besides, I slept a lot last night, so I can afford a late one."

He is willing to do that for my sister's own comfort… I place my own hand upon his, "I'm so glad you came with us… 'S'." I wink.

"So am I." he said staring into my eyes with his, those eyes that sucks any insecurity or doubts I have out and rids me of them. My heart starts racing again, being this close to him makes me feel so safe, and especially being so far from home. Though I have personally known this man for a few days, I feel like I can trust him with my life and, more importantly, my sisters.

"A-hem!" Anna grunts from behind us, "You two done? Can we go save Kristoff now?"

Back to reality we come again… "Sorry, what's the plan 'S'?"

He gestures us to follow him into a bush and duck away from the sight of people in the village that might be looking up to the forest entrance. "We need to get to the coachmaster without anyone seeing you. I realise now that…" he says rubbing his head in exasperation, "Maybe I shouldn't have colour co-ordinated your cowls…"

"Really? But I like these! It's my colour!" Anna says.

"Exactly silly," I say to her, "We're not trying to draw any attention to ourselves remember?" I turn back to Seb and pat him in the shoulder, "We'll be fine."

"Wait- coachmaster?" Anna repeated, "The boats right there, why can't we just sail from here?"

"Ships from this harbour don't travel commercially to Corona. If we try and sail there from here, it will look suspicious. That's not what we need right know."

"Awwww but it's right there!" she said pointing to the ship with the statue of a mermaid with red hair and a green tail on the front.

"I know, but like I said, we'll need to travel to the public docks first. That ship will be making a run of military supplies to the main docks too, we'll grab it there."

"How can you be sure it will be there though?" Anna asks.

"It's the Athena, the fastest military transport ship we have in our armada. We use her to take tonnes of cannonballs, weapons and armour so it is very strong and fast. She's scheduled for a hop to the docks later this evening and it won't have any missions for a while after that. It'll cross the sea with ease, but we'll need a bigger vessel to get to the High Isles."

"Not till this evening huh…" Anna said, "As fun as all this hiding from people and being all sneaky is, I really could do with a little warmth."

She's right, she could. The capes that we are wearing are now soaked through with rain and provide little protection from the sea air. She is shivering trying to keep warm and my stomach is craving a hot cup of cocoa.

"Well it's a good job is pouring with rain isn't it?" Seb says.

…_huh?_

"Is that supposed to be funny?" Anna sulked.

"Not at all." He grinned, "Look," he points down to the village, ""What do you notice about everyone?"

It doesn't take me long to figure it out, and he's right. The weather has everyone wrapped up in hoods and cloaks just like ours. What would otherwise be a flurry of people of different shapes and sizes distinguished by their hair and clothing, has transformed into a dull, never-ending grey swamp of people, with their heads down and eyes to the floor. Their moral is so low, so sneaking past them should be easy.

"He's right sis! We'd blend in perfectly down there." My eyes also make out a small tavern with a sign showing a hot drink on a small plate hanging outside. "And as he said, we have time!"

"Right then," Seb began, "we'll head to the coach master later on in the evening, but I think we've earned a break. Let's find a tavern."

"I'm way ahead of you there!" I say, pointing out the one I spotted.

"Then let's go," Anna said impatiently, "I need something chocolaty!"

We walk down to the village being careful not to lose our footing as we tread carefully with our horses reins in our hands. The path is very wet and muddy, bordering sludgy, and is made up of simple wooden planks embedded into the ground to guide us down a narrow path hugging the hill's downward slope. Anna almost loses her footing several times, but luckily, Seb catches her. If one of us slips over it could get people's attention, which is exactly what we need to do without now.

As we approach the bottom, the path starts to level out and we enter the village through the main gate. I'm pretty sure no one is looking at us but, at the same time, I feel like everyone is staring at us. I can feel people's gazes stabbing me in the back like knives, though Anna and I use the horses for cover.

As we all walk towards the tavern, I get a brainwave. I delve deep into my bag and pull out a scarf that Gerda knitted for me when I was younger and wrap it around the lower part of my face, tucking the loose ends into my collar. Now I'm completely inconspicuous and hidden in plain sight. I notice that Anna has done the same thing.

As I hook my bag back on Percy, I don't look where I'm going and my shoulder catches someone as they hurry past me. "_Oof!_" My heart almost stops when I realise that he has spilled something all over the floor.

"Oh my- I'm so terrible sorry ma'am!" The tall man says, I notice that he has dropped a basket of fish all over the floor and a woman has nearly slipped over it.

This is not good. Trying to be stealthy has just attracted all sorts of attention to us. Many people are now looking over to us wondering what all the commotion was, so a small crowd had gathered. I can feel my face flushing red with fear.

I look over to Anna, who's eyes look terrified of being caught. I don't know what to do! Do I help him clear up? Do I just walk off? I really want to help but at the same time I just want to get the heck out of here!

Just as more people crowd around us, I feel a hand grab my shoulder and pull me back hard. I almost fall over as Anna grabs me and rushes me towards the tavern. Turns out it was Seb pulling me away; I hear him behind me speaking to the man, "Here, let me help you sir." as we both hurry towards the tavern, and away from the now dispersing crowd.

We made it away from the large group that had converged and we're almost at the tavern. Anna and I tie our horse's reins to the posts outside when Seb catches us up, covered in fish slime.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't see him at all!" I say to him.

"It's fine." He says wiping of some gunk from his hoodie, "Let us be a little bit more careful in future though, yes?"

"Agreed." Anna says, "That was way too close! Good idea with the scarf though Elsa."

"'_E!_'" I corrected her quickly, "Remember, initials only!"

"Oh yeah, sorry!" She whispers back.

Seb finishes tying Cesaer to his post and heads over to the front door. "Okay, I'll talk to the barman, you both find a table right at the back of the room. What do you girls want?"

"Hot cocoa!" We both said simultaneously.

"I see!" He laughed with surprise as we opened the door to the Tavern.

Before we'd even set foot inside the place, the feeling of warmth and the scent of vanilla and chocolate and all things sweet flooded our minds, making us almost forget the horrible, damp smell we have gathered from the relentless downpour. The sound of men cheering and dancing to a band playing merry jives and folk songs about fishing out at sea replaces the splashing and muffled chatter of the rain and people, silently battling with each other to get out of the rain and under shelter. Turns out there are places that smell better than the Inns back in Arendelle. This one looks much more comfortable as well, with soft seats lined with velvety cushions that are very welcoming to us considering that we have been riding on horseback for days now. Straight away, Anna and I spot a table at the back far away from all the commotion.

"There!" Anna whispers to me as we make our way to the table. Taking a seat, after what feels like months, on a comfy chair for once. I can feel all the blood return to my legs and my feet.

"Ahh… That's better." I mumble as we both chill in the warmth and secrecy of our newly found haven.

It doesn't take long for Seb to return with three steaming mugs of hot cocoa, and one of coffee for himself. He sits next to me and hands us our luscious elixirs and straight away, we start drinking them, not caring if they'll burn or not. I take a long series of gulps before I finally break away from the mug with a sigh; just like being back at home.

"Do you guys want to dry off your hoods and scarves?" Seb asks pointing to an open fire in the wall next to us with a railing for people to hand their wet clothes on, "We'll be okay back here, I've asked the bartender to make this area private to allow us to plan our route undisturbed."

"Can you trust him?" Anna asks.

"You can trust anyone if you pay enough." He said as he slips his money pouch back into his pocket. Just as I notice this, I see that the bartender has shifted around some tables and chairs to block off this area for us from everyone else, though they're all too involved in their pints and ales to notice us.

"Right," Seb begins as he takes a sip from his coffee, "There are a few things that we need to discuss about the Journey ahead, the first being the horses."

"Wait- What?" Anna says, just about to take another sip, "Can't Cinnamon come with us?"

"I'm afraid not your majesty," he says, "The terrain we will cross will be too difficult and painful for them."

"So we'll have to release them," she said with regret, "they are palace horses, they'll just-"

"-find their own way back to the palace." I finish for her, "Which is something we can't do. If our horses return to the palace without us then alarms will ring everywhere, if they're not already."

"'E's right," Seb begins; "Now there's an animal shelter not too far from here. They'll be very well looked after there, and you never know, we could always pick them up on the way back."

I can tell that Anna doesn't like this, but it's the only way that we will get far away enough from Arendelle without causing any suspicion. I don't know if we will even find them after, but it will set Anna's mind a little at ease I guess.

"As long as they're looked after then fine, but I want to at least say goodbye to her first."

"Of course you will," Seb says, "We all will see them off!"

"And like he said," I intervene, "We'll see them when we get back! This will be like a little holiday camp for them!" I sound ridiculous now, but I'm just saying anything to take her mind off of it.

"Yeah…" she says, before sitting slightly upright, "Yeah! You're right, she'll love it! She can run with all of the other horses and have a lot of fun."

"I'm jealous of her!" I say.

For the next hour or so, we just sit in our private area and talk about random stuff. Anna tells Seb about the Orphanage she used to take food to and the times we got cooking with Kai and playing games with Gerda in the halls and annoying the Palace staff. Those were good times… I was telling him about Olaf and how he's pretty much considered as a part of a small, dysfunctional but perfect family. It was great not having to look over our shoulders before we start speaking just in case someone overhears us. We only really had to go under the radar for about five minutes outside, but it was the most uncomfortable five minutes of my life.

Every now and then, the bartender that Seb paid to keep us hidden would come and ask if we needed anything, saving us from having to go to the bar to get our cocoas refilled. This time when he came over however, with more of a stern look on his face. Something didn't feel right about his attitude, though I didn't know what.

"Anything from the bar my friends?" he says in a cheerful tone, which confuses me. Why does his facial expression not seem to align to his words?

"No we've had more than our share, but thank you friend!" Seb says to him.

"Very well." He says, stiffly reaching into his pocket, from which he pulls a small piece of paper with hand scribbled words on it. "If that is all then here is the bill. Good day." He then throws the paper onto the table, looks at Seb with a face that I recognise as one I plagued Arendelle with the day I ran away, and leaves. Something has spooked him.

"Wait- We didn't- I already-" Seb tries to call out to him, but he's already long gone.

"Well…" Anna started, "Was it just me or was that just really uncalled for?"

"Yes," Seb answers, "It was. I already paid our tab when we entered; I tipped generously."

"He picks up the bill and reads through it, though I notice that as he does, his face goes from confusion to serious quite quickly.

"We have to leave," he says with a hushed start as he jumps to his feet, "there's an open window back there and a brown cart full of hay. Get in it, and don't make a sound." He ordered us before hurrying past the stacked chairs and to the main foyer of the house, where there seemed to be some kind of commotion brewing.

I grab the note and begin reading it, but it only has a few words on it:

_You're being followed_

"E, here, quick!" I hear Anna quietly call to me. She grabs my hand and her and I both head to the back of the room, and down a narrow corridor; she has to go first as it isn't wide enough for the both of us. My heart's pounding; however much Seb paid that bartender, it was enough for him to tip us off; he could be in serious trouble for this!

I barely have time to think as we reach the end of the hall and, as promised, a small window is propped open with a stick jammed in its seam. Anna lifts it open, throws the stick outside, and scrambles through it, to which I follow. I'm in that much of a hurry that I hardly notice I caught my dress on the window's exposed locking mechanism.

"Oh no!" I say as I end up pulling the rusty lock out of the window frame! "Now what?" I say as the window limply slides shut behind us.

"I don't know, but we need to hide!" Anna says as she points to the large cart of hay next to us. In a freak brainwave, I cast a spray of Ice on the window's seams, firmly locking it in place!

_It'll have to do for now! _I think to myself as we head to the abandoned cart.

It's a difficult clamber to get in but we just manage. We dive into it and quickly bury ourselves in hay, hiding us from sight. Thankfully, the weather has slightly receded, though it is still very damp in here. I can feel Anna to my side as well, never letting go of my hand.

"Seb had this whole thing planned?" She asks.

"He must of! I had no idea!"

"I'm really worried for him! Do you think he's okay?" she says with a quiet whimper.

"I'm sure he's fine. Remember he is the captain of the Arendelle Guard! He can handle himself pretty well!"

"I hope you're right!" So do I…

Through a crack in the cart's side, I can make out a figure on the other side of the frozen window. It's too difficult to make out any features but it looks like he takes one look at the ice and then hurries back. _Oh no! _That wasn't such a good idea after all; what if they are from home? What if word has spread already that we are missing? We'll never make it to Corona without being spotted!

Just then the cart lurches forwards and I can feel ourselves being pulled away from the tavern. "_Oh no! Who's that?" _I whisper to Anna, "_Can you see who it is?"_

She tries to manoeuvre herself awkwardly to see behind us, towards the front of the cart, but there is simply too much hay to see anything at all! "Argh-" she struggles, "_I can't see anything! Will it be Sebastian?"_

If it were him pulling us, he'd have said something to reassure us by now. "I don't think so. _Anna, stay down and stay quiet. I don't like this one bit"_

We sit for the next few minutes in silence, too scared to speak or even breathe, listening to the cart slice through the thick, waterlogged mud that makes the floor of this village. Being separated from Seb is the worst thing that could happen to us right now! I'd just been realising how crucial he is to making sure that we make it to Kristoff and the High Isles! I doubt we'd have made it this far this fast without him.

Around ten minutes later, we feel the cart being guided down a gradient and the ground below us hardens up. We are leaving the town?! Where are we going? Anna and I both exchange looks of fright.

The cart also starts to speed up a little too. There are laws about how fast you can go on these kinds of roads, and this person is definitely disregarding them! It's getting really uncomfortable in here now too, the speed and firmness of the road is shaking the cart around to no end, and I'm scared it will break apart!

"Anna! Hold on!" I scream over the roar of the cart hurtling to goodness knows where. I can't even see her through all the hay, but she still hasn't let go of my hand; I can feel her vice grip.

Just then, I feel the cart veer off to the side of the road and the ground begins to soften, giving me the impression that we are now off the harsh and punishing road and on smoother grass. Though I can feel the waterlogged mud on the ground begin to make the carts journey even harder. The rain hasn't ceased and it is feeling really icky in here now. The hay encasing Anna and I is now very damp and smothering; it could just be me but it's getting a little hard to breathe in here!

Finally, I can feel the cart come to a halt, and Anna's grip on my hand tightens even more. "Elsa…" she whispers fearfully.

I have no words for her. I only return her grip with my own and wait.

As I do, I hear the familiar slap of boots hitting the ground as our kidnapper has clearly left the front seat and the creaking and leaning of the cart tells me that he is now clambering up the side and I now hear him shifting through the hay above us.

A small glimpse of Anna shows me that she has some kind of stone in her hand, ready to defend herself.

That's a point; I'm going to have to tap into my abilities again, though I swore I'd never do anything to harm her. That being said, we're in serious trouble, I'll have to!

The final slither of hay is pulled from over us as Anna instinctively begins to launch her stone at the figures face and I prepare a sphere of snow to stun our kidnapper- "Wait Anna!"

I quickly shove her wrist out of the way and the pebble goes flying out of her hand.

"What did I tell you about initials only girls?" Sebastian says sternly.

* * *

**Ugh, finally it's done!**

**Sorry this has taken so long. As the end of my college course approached it became such a crazy runaround trying to organise all my portfolio, but I did it! I'm now Level 4 qualified Sports Masseur and Soft Tissue Therapist!**

**Which also means I will now have so much more time on my hands to really get back into this story!**

**Please leave a review if you enjoyed, and I hope you all got what you wanted to get out of this year!**

**Until Chapter 13... You know, they say that 13 is an unlucky number...**


	13. A Tail with a Shadow

**A Tail with a Shadow**

* * *

**Well... It's been a while.**

**First of all, let me give you guys a massive overdue apology for the huge gap since the last upload.**

**The truth is that I just hit a massive writers block and I just didn't want to force any writing as it would most likely awful.**

**Recently my circumstances have massively changed and i have a new job working or Transport for London, so that has kept me busy. However during quiet periods this story is always on my mind and I have spent time building up ideas as to where to go with this story and now I am very excited as to what to do next.**

**I am going to give 100% effort to the rest of the story. I feel like this is a good early halfway point, maybe 40-45% done, but I just don't know as to where this novel will be going, which is a massively exciting thing for me!**

**Thank you for being so patient with me; one of my pet peevs is when a story is just left without any reason from the author... which is exactly what I have done to you.**

**So I can only apologies once more, work has already began on the next chapter, so it's on it's way!**

**Please leave a review if you feel like this chapter, or you just want to shout at me for being so late... like- LITERALLY a year late...**

**Enjoy this next chapter... I hope you enjoy it; it has taken a year...**

**One damn year...**

**:'(**

* * *

I'm in agony...

Shade and I have been training for a long time now. Well, actually it's only been a few days, but the sheer amount of training we have gone through had been astronomical! Every morning I'd awaken in my chambers, have a 'trainers breakfast' as Shade called it, and meet him on the shelf for training. All day. It's taking its toll on my body; all by muscles ache to the point where I feel I am injured, but I feel stronger. The freezing air outside has aided in my stamina too and, although it is very hard to train outside on my lungs, I'm starting to get used to it.

Physical Training would last a few hours, then we'd get food at noon and go straight back out, meaning I had to readjust to the freezing temperatures again. It all benefits me I guess. Once lunch is finished we'd start on technical training.

Where Physical Training aims to strengthen my body, Technical Training improves the methods and technique in the arena. We'd spar for a while, remembering I'm still aching from the morning's Physical, then use various weapons on dummies and each other. I do enjoy the technical side of training, it allows me to temporarily forget who I am and what I've done in the past focusing on seeing myself improve at what I am good at. Shade sees the improvements too as he comments on my performance throughout, providing criticism and compliments where needed.

Today is our last day as the tournament is later today. I had my hearty breakfast, mainly containing fish and potato, and I'm outside, ready to train. This morning is different however, Shade isn't here, and Kristoff is. He's back in the shackles like before, only not as heavily secured. I imagine he is too weak to pose as any threat now. I decide to use this time to find out a little more about why he is present in the tournament, if he even knows why. Not only that, but with what I've done to Anna, I feel obliged to make sure he is... Kind of okay.

"Kristoff." I say sharply in greeting.

"Hans." He acknowledges without looking my way, "No gifts for your master's pet this time?" I can't tell if he is joking or not, I feel so nervous talking to him.

"Sorry, with the recent crackdown on food, you've gotten all that I could get." It's true, I sometimes smuggle him food when he was being kept in the Arena. I'm sure that shade noticed, but I don't think he minded.

"Fair enough. And... You know- thanks for that." He says bluntly, "But it doesn't change anything. You know that I'd kill you the second I have the chance." He says slightly twitching, making his chains rattle. I can't decide whether it's the cold or the pure hatred he must have for me right now.

His words hit me hard, but I understand. "I don't expect it to. And trust me, your shackles are for my protection, not Cyril's."

"Cyril didn't leave Anna for dead and try and kill Queen Elsa."

"I know. That was me, and I know that selfish actions cannot be backed by words to a chained man, but I am sorry. I regret along it. If I could take it all back I would in a heartbeat whatever the cost. I swear it"

He just "hmph's" to himself. I feel like this could genuinely be a positive response given the circumstances, but I also believe that his last statement was too, the one about killing me when he can.

"Kristoff, do you know why you're out here?" I ask.

"Is that supposed to be funny? You know exactly what Cyril's planning." He mutters. He did also slightly glance at me then too.

"I meant the tournament. Has Cyril said why he wants you to be present during the fighting?"

"I don't know- a scare tactic maybe?" He says.

"I just think it's strange that he is keeping you in there to watch. No offence but you can't deny that I would be easier to just keep you out here."

"Like I said I don't know. But I'm sure you'll find out soon enough."

"I guess." I say, "Well I must go, I need to find my partner." I say looking to the large door behind me.

"Your bestie Shade? He was here not long ago."

"He was?" Ah man! Did I miss him? Am I late?

"Yup. He walked out here, saw me, left straight away. I must look intimidating..."

"Damn, he must have wondered where I am..." I mutter under my breath.

"I think it's cute you've got someone that cares about you that much," he starts, "try not to kill this one." Boy he doesn't hold back...

Just then Shade appears in the doorway behind me and walks over to us, "Sorry I'm late Hans." He says out of breath.

"Not a problem! I've just got here."

"Good," he says composing himself, I've been looking for another place for us to train; I didn't know Lord Cyril planned on bringing his prisoner back here."

"Kristoff." I carefully say to him.

"Sorry?" Shade says.

"He's going to be here for a while, calling him by his name does seem easier doesn't it?" I'm not sure why I'm defending him like this.

"Point." He says, "Either way, I've been searching as I didn't realise that... _Kristoff, _was back here."

"You boys can fight, I don't mind. You want me to sing for you? I can sing, you know?" Kristoff says with a slyness. It does make me chuckle slightly.

"Watch your tongue if you want to keep it." Shade ordered. Jeez that was a bit harsh... "Although it looks like we'll have to stay here, everywhere else is taken. People are starting to take this seriously apparently."

"We'll all of our gear is here already so we may as well!"

"Makes sense I guess."

We start setting up in the usual fashion that we do at the start of each session; setting up the dummies in formation and checking the equipment. I know my way around them now, what settings to use and where they all go.

We then get straight into the Physical Routine which involves sets of different workouts involving push-ups, weighted push ups, sit ups and weighted sit ups. They're getting easier though Shade always makes me do more now that I'm not struggling. As a rule, we go until we're fatigued and I always have to wait a while longer for him to finish. Kristoff just kinda sits there and watches. Awkwardly... I really want to know why he's here...

"Hey Shade," I whisper finishing my first set of push ups, "Why is Kristoff back out here now?"

"I believe it is because Lord Cyril is prepping the main hall for the arena."

"Ah I see…" It's kind of strange doing a vigorous work out in front of someone just sitting and watching but I just learn to ignore it.

We continue with our workout regime until we finish the final set of weighted sit ups. My stomach, previously weighed down by fish and potato, is now empty and it feels like I'm running on fumes. So it gives me much satisfaction in knowing that next up is lunch. Most of the competition have theirs indoors but Shade has ours brought to us; he really wants to stay separate from them!

Lunch, again, consisted of fish and water. Back at home and even Arendelle I got a choice of many dishes to have, but after each workout I'll eat anything, even if it's just fish. However this time it's in a sandwich so at least it breaks it up a little.

It doesn't take long for us to finish our meal and allow our stomachs to settle before we head into the Technical side of our training. Kristoff is still here, although he seems to be deep in his own thought. I can't help but ponder what someone in his position could be thinking about. Could it be Anna? Are they that close? She is very compassionate; I should know.

She gave me her heart, and I crushed it.

* * *

"What was that back there? What happened?" Anna asks with a bite.

"Someone must have found out we were travelling and tried to intercept us." Seb says, "The barman tipped us off. We owe it to him that we're still alive!"

"Still alive?" I say, " Who where they? Why would they want us dead if Cyril has called us to him? It doesn't make sense!"

"I don't know, but it can't be good." He says, "For now let us just get to the docks and leave, as soon as possible..."

"Agreed," Anna says keenly, "we need to get to Kristoff soon before Cyril grows impatient."

"I think we'll be okay," Seb answers, "Cyril had gone through great lengths to get Kristoff, he'll wait as long as he needs to."

"But we'd be helping if we moved so let us go!" I say, thinking of Anna.

Anna looks towards the road to decide whereabouts we are, so I see the opportunity.

"Seb," I ask carefully making sure Anna is out of earshot, "What happened back there?" I say gesturing to his clothing.

His clothing is dark due to the rain, but I can make out scuffs and tears that were definitely not there before. The colours are difficult to make out, so I'm going to hope that it's just a muddy stain...

"I think they were bounty hunters," he said, "I saw no guild or alliance markings on them and they were slow and clumsy; they had no training. Word must have already spread that you're missing. This may be harder than we first thought."

"Bounty hunters?" I exclaim, "in Arendelle's territories?"

"Yes, remember we're not actually in Arendelle anymore, the surrounding territories won't be as welcoming. We must stay alert." He says, just before he starts to look around quite frantically, "Where's A?"

"She went to the road to get our bearings." I say to him, "You know, being buried in hay messes up your awareness!"

He shuffles past me and hurries to the road and grabs Anna, bringing her back into the cover of the foliage. "We can't go wandering off. Stick together until we get to the docks."

I've never seen him this alert! Something serious must have gone down back there.

"Okay, you got it. But next time you want to kidnap us please give us a bit of warning!" Anna said, still brushing off some hay from her clothes.

"Well hopefully I won't have to do it again," Seb says apologetically, "but it was the only realistic way I could make you two disappear!"

"It did work well to be fair." I smile at him, "So thank you, but you understand that I am hopeful the journey to the docks will be a little less strenuous from now on!"

Back on the road we start to cautiously make our way towards the Docks to meet the Athena. Seb says that it should already have left Timberwood and should be moored for an hour or so before we get there. Apparently no one will notice that the ship will have gone missing but that's not really my concern at the moment, that'd be Anna.

The rest of our journey is relatively uninteresting. Our way mainly consists of a rough road of pebbles and small stones that Anna occasionally kicks just in front of her out of boredom. Seb often turns to see if we are being followed, but anything following us is hiding very well because we can't see them. Our path is rarely obscured as we are flanked by a thick treeline and the road is open, with the odd traveller and cart passing by, extending a passive nod in greeting, to which Seb returns and Anna and I remain hidden inside our cowls.

"Do we have any food?" Anna asks a moment later.

"Food?" Seb repeated, "No I didn't pick any up from the tavern."

"I kept some from the tents 'A'," I say to lighten the spirits as I start rooting through my Knapsack, "Let's see… I have Sandwiches… an apple, wait- two apples… and a chocolate biscuit."

"That'll do!" Says my hungry sister as she grabs a sandwich and one of the apples; the bright red one.

The rest of the way only holds quiet in the air, with the odd chomp on an apple from my left side. We reach the end of the road, where we are greeted by a signpost that says "To Arendelle", pointing back the way we came, and "Dock" pointing just ahead to a path that leads into a small clearing off to the side.

"You smell that?" Anna says giving the air a sniff.

"The sea." Seb responds, "Not far now."

We filter into this clearing and begin making our way along this path, but something seems off...

This path is so clean and fresh, like it's brand new. The atmosphere has changed a lot too, like it's getting darker even though the tree line hasn't changed. I can tell that Seb can sense something too as he seems on edge.

My heart stops as I hear footsteps behind us that weren't there previously. I glance over to see a figure seemingly emerge from thin air as I'm sure he wasn't there seconds before.

Our pace quickens slightly as we start to head deeper into the path's travel, to find that our follower also hastens his stride. We were obviously being tailed, but now our stalker has revealed himself. Just as another man reveals himself ahead of us, though he is walking towards us; we have been flanked.

"S?" Anna says unnerved as we tighten our ranks.

"Stay close to me." Seb mutters to us.

As we approach the figure, our pace slows and our ranks tighten. Eventually we are halted in our path. The figure in front of us also halts, as does our

follower. Both appear to be unarmed.

A few moments pass where no one speaks and we stand in silence, Anna's grip on my hand tightening, as Seb is the first to speak.

"Good day sir," he outs with a false greeting and a tense tongue. "Can we help you?" He says, again with confidence, though his hand never leaves the grip of his saber.

"It is a good day sir. A good day for us hunters I see." he says in a strong English accent.

_Hunters? _I think.

"Ah- well," Seb begins in reply, "As men, we are all hunters yes? Collecting and gathering for our families and fellow townsfolk?"

"You clearly misunderstand sir." Our tail says from behind us as he edges closer, "Hunters we are, yes. Though we are all more accustomed to collecting something far more valuable than food and resources for settlements aren't we?" He says glancing towards Anna and I.

"You see, we prefer gold." Says the other, "and we all have our own ways of making it don't we?"

"_Bounty hunters!_" Anna whispers to me.

"The red-head's right!" Says our blocker, "and whether or not you've heard mate, the state of Arendelle has a warrent out, and they would pay out nicely for these two..."

No we're out of time! The warrant for us must have already gone out!

"We have no intention to harm you, our business is not with you friend," says our flanker to Seb, "rest assured, your trip will be just as successful without these two."

"You know?" Seb chuckled, "I might have believed that if you weren't clutching that dagger under your coat."

On closer inspection, that man does look like he's holding something but I didn't even notice!

"Hehe-" the man grins, "you have a keen eye. Hunter? fisherman?"

"Maybe even more than that." asks the other, pointing out Seb's sabre tucked away in his sheathe.

"We all have our secrets, I think I'll keep mine." Seb replies sharply.

"What's a secret in the world we live in?" The man in front says. " All secrets will be revealed one day or another. It all depends on how much you pay for them."

"Example:" our tail continues, "we'd never have found out about this little trip these two are planning had we not spent wisely."

Someone told them we'd left already! How many others know by now?

"Who told you?" I ask authoritively.

"We all have our secrets my queen." He replies.

"Enough pleasantries," the one in front said calmly, "Are you going to allow us to take our prize we've been rightfully tracking for the best of the last three days?"

"You know I can't do that." Seb says bluntly.

"That-" says the follower, accompanied with the familiar sound of a sword being drawn, "will be your last mistake."

Just then the one in front charged with impressive speed and slashed with a dagger at Seb. Seb releases his grip on his sheathed blade and simply catches both of the attacker's wrists, halting his attack, and knocks him to the ground with a headbutt, disarming him of his dagger. All in one swift movement.

The other then readies a full sized sword and starts hacking and slashing at the air around Seb maniacally. Seb's simple sidesteps and shuffles left to right again and again make the attecker's swings look feeble, and rushed. Obviously fatigued already, the hunter slows his veined onslaught, but once again, Seb shuffles. This time though he bolts around the man and grabs him from behind; one arm wraps around his neck, the other grabs his sword arm at the wrist and squeezes hard.

The attacker whimpers as his grip on his sword is lessened and it fails to the floor with a metallic 'clank'! He then then gives his opponent a swift shove and he falls and trips on his partner, who still hadn't gotten to his feet.

They both scramble and help each other upright and then turn to Seb.

"That was without my sword guys," Seb says, "Do not make me draw it. Next time I won't be so forgiving."

With that the hunters, both slouched and withdrawn timidly, carefully reach to pick up the dropped sword on the ground at Seb's feet. He slowly picks it up by the blade tip; a sign of surrender, this man won't try again.

Seb then tosses the dagger at the feet of the other man, who tries to quickly scramble to grab it, but decides that it is too dangerously close to Seb to try. They clamber to their feet, and pivot away from us and flee.

"Alright Seb!" Anna cries in delight, with a fist pump giving him a big hug that I could tell he wasn't ready for...

"It's- no problem- guys..." He forces out, winded from Anna's firm grasp.

"Hehe- okay sis that's enough! Let our hero go!" I say for him.

She releases her grip on Seb and his breathing slowly returns to normal. "Bet you're glad I came now huh?" He says with a grin.

"Definitely..." I giggle to him. I notice he is becoming more and more informal around me recently, but I do prefer it. It means he's getting more and more comfortable around me, which is good. It means I can be more comfortable around him too.

He is right though. I start to wonder just how far we actually would have come if Anna and I had just snuck out without aid. Would we only have gotten as far as the inn? Or would we even have managed to find the place without Seb guiding us there?! I was so busy thinking of fixing everything for Anna that I didn't even stop to consider the consequences of us hastily leaving without caution.

"That should keep the rest of our journey to the docks quiet for now," Seb starts, "until those thugs return to whomever it was that sent them in the first place."

"But they said they were just bounty hunters right?" Anna asks, "Aren't they just lone wolfs?"

"They did yes, but lone hunters never come as well equipped as they did." He does have a point; they had very premium gear with them. No bounty hunters can afford this kind of weaponry." he said brandishing the felled dagger of one of the crooks.

"Did you steal that from them?" Anna asks, shocked.

"They donated it to us when they chose to attack us." he said. "besides it will do better in our hands." He says as he hands the weapon to a very shocked Anna, and much to my surprise as well...

"Wha?!" she exclaims, "No. no- I can't take this! It's a knife! You- you kill people with this thing!"

"Look," he starts, "I'd rather you didn't have to carry weapons at all. But if it comes down to it and we need to defend ourselves, I have my sabre and your sister has her powers. Better have a weapon then not need it, than need one and not have one."

He is right in his sense but I don't know how I feel about my little sister carrying a dagger around. It really is starting to hit me just how scary the real world outside of Arendelle really is. this is going to be quite an adventure.

"Right," Seb starts, "I think it's about time we head off? I don't know about you but I'm starting to get a bit tired of these woods."

"I agree," I say, "we should keep moving.

Anna nods and nervously sheathes the dagger in the back of her coat by her lower back, though it takes her a few tries to even do this. i can tell by the way that she is holding it that she's not too pleased by the fact that she is having to carry around a dagger and hide it from everyone, but then again we shouldn't encounter any others on our way not.

Shouldn't being the key word.

We all begin to continue down the docks; Seb walks in front, Anna in the middle and I bring up the rear. The atmosphere and General mood about a party seems to have changed with the recent encounter. I think it's opened Anna and my eyes as to how dangerous the world really is. Back in Arendelle we were loved and appreciated as rulers, but out here is completely different. People literally see us as money, and it seems like they'll stop at nothing until they cash in on their prize.

After what seems like an age of walking and tripping through rough gravel and stone pathways, clearly not designed for regular use, we find a break in the tree line. We're instantly met by a fierce smell of salt, fish and general scents you'd expect from a busy dock. A wide bay, with a few different spaces for ships to moor at, is hugged by the ocean, lapping at the shoreline with waves that only look to be around waist height. Though it has less than the previous village, these moors appear much wider and some have enormous cargo ships already roped up and loading. Some parts of the docks have huge cranes that are operated by using what looks like a complicated combination of ropes and pulleys that hoist various shapes and sizes of cargo on and off the decks. There are few small buildings around clearly aiming at the wholesale of food such as fish and bread to hungry workers. There's a larger house closer to the sea's edge that seems slightly busier than the rest. It also has a tall red and white lighthouse protruding from its roof. This is the one closest to us.

"Is that where you need to go to meet your friend about our ship 'S'" I ask him.

"It is. And look at that! right on schedule!" he says as he points to the moor farthest to the left, where a medium sized vessel is pulling in with a green statuette of a mermaid on its front with hair as red as the setting sun.

"The Athena!" Anna gasps, "Can we at least get on it now?"

"Not just yet." he says, "I need to check in with my contact in the lighthouse. We need to find a spot for you two."

"Preferably one where we aren't likely to get jumped this time?" I say, giving Seb a smug, childish grin.

"Here's hoping eh?" he says with a smile.

"Wait- what?!" Anna exclaims, "You are joking right? We'll be okay here?"

Well it all depends on just how good Arendelle's security and guard force are at send sending out wanted posters and warrants out to it's neighbors.

"Well, you're the captain of the guard; how good are they?" Anna asks.

"The best on the continent." he says scanning the area in front of us.

Anna gives a sigh of dismay, as we both check our hoods and scarves covering our faces are in check before we head closer.

Seb begins to pace out of the treeline and towards the crowd when I hear Anna give a squeal of terror behind me. I spin around to see a figure with his hand on my sister's shoulder. Seb has also pivoted and partly drew his sabre.

"Thought you guys would come through here." the figure says in a slight German accent.

"Let go of her now." I say bluntly, but seb puts his hand on my raised arm in withdrawal.

"Arnold?" Seb whispers. I also see that he has sheathed his sword.

"Sebastian." the man confirms, "It's been a while." He releases what seemed like a gentle grip on Anna's shoulders, while I extinguish the fiery ball of frost I had prepared behind my back. Since when I could make fiery ice blasts?

This 'Arnold' character was of average build, with curly brown hair that almost reminds me of our cousin's back in Corona. He is wearing fine clothes and carrying a knapsack on his back, and he carries a rather strong smell of fish... He seems to be a worker here, and his job pays well.

"Too long my friend!" Seb replies, "How are Bertha and Miles?"

"They are well!" he smiles, "And they'll be even better knowing they can meet Arendelle's finest Royals!" he says holding his hands out to us.

"Of course!" Seb says taken aback as he turns to us, "Allow me to introduce my good friend Arnold! We met during an expedition of Arendelle's surroundings when I was just a patrolman."

"And now look at you!" he says, "Captain of the guard!" he says smiling, though his smile fades as he continues, "Though I only wish this meeting had been under better circumstances." referring to us.

"That's a point!" Anna says, "What do you mean you 'thought you'd find us here'?"

"Forgive me my princess," he says with a subtle bow, "You guide has more friends in the ranks than he thinks!"

"What do you mean?" Seb asks, confused.

"I received word from Gregor that you might be headed hear and that you will want to be kept hidden away from his own guards." he starts. "He also explained about Kristoff, so I figured that's where you guys are heading. He's delaying sending out search parties to find you as long as he can, but his hands will soon be tied."

"Well I'll be; he remembered."

"Isn't Gregor your second in command?" I ask.

"He is, and it looks like he sussed that I will have wanted to go alone with you two, so he's giving us all the help he can from his perspective."

"How on earth could he figure that out?" I ask.

"A long time ago we made a deal, him and I. "If I were to ever to disappear with a member of the royal family it is on an incognito basis. He should not worry and, instead, try and keep the guard force at bay for as long as possible."

"Awesome!" Anna says, "We have to promote him when we get back!"

"Errrm…" I start, "That position is taken?" I saw, awkwardly pointing to Seb, who innocently grins. The next position is Guard Captain.

"Oh yeah…" She says. "Pay rise then!"

"Is she ready to go then?" Seb says to Arnold. "The Athena?"

"Almost." he says, "She needs unloading and then loading with fish. Turns out that, even as Harbourmaster, I can't just give you a military transport vessel..."

"Who'd have thought?" Seb says jokingly.

"What?" I say. "Does this mean we can't leave?"

"Hang on my queen," says Seb with a soothing tone, "If I know anything about Arnold, it's that he always has a back-up."

"You know me well!" he says, "I've leased her from Arendelle to take a shipment of fish to Corona, that'll be your cover. I've also contacted the Harbour there, they'll be expecting the delivery and, to their knowledge, the paperwork will all be sorted, so there'll be no need for you to hang around. You'll just be dumping the ship and heading off."

"See?" Seb says, "we're in good hands."

"Only the best for Arendelle!" Arnold states, "Now who's hungry? Long journey like that you'll be wanting a warm meal right? You can stay in my quarters until the Athena is ready to sail?"

"Oh that sounds amazing!" I say.

"I can't even remember the last time I had a hot meal!" Anna says.

"We've only been on the road for a few days!" Seb says.

"And Seb made us bacon and eggs like, a day ago!"

After a long pause for thought, Anna seems to change her mind, "Can we just go?"

"Certainly!" Arnold says, "This way!"

He leads us into the crowd and we enter stealth mode. Anna and I put our cowls and hoods up, obscuring us from prying eyes. Seb walks in front as usual with Arnold at his side, exchanging views on the current surroundings that are very foreign to my sister and I. Our dock back in Arendelle is nothing like this one; the main difference being that it would house ships for royals and welcome dignitaries from other countries to our kingdom. This of course meant that great care was taken to ensure that it was kept clean and maintained at an excellent standard to give a good impression to visitors. This one however is clearly more for industrial usage, as it appears to be quite run down and messy, with piles of ropes, nets and huge clamps that I assume are for use with the cranes.

It doesn't take us long to reach Arnold's house. I realise it is the lighthouse that we spotted earlier.

"Here we are!" Arnold says as we approach the door. "Oh- please remove your shoes before stepping off of the mat inside; Bertha gets really antsy when there are muddy footprints all over the house…"

"Understood." Seb says with a grin.

Arnold puts his hand on the doorknob, then quickly retracts back to us, "Oh- and please don't touch the Ornaments, furniture with blue ribbons on it, the cooking utensils hanging from the ceiling over the table as they're antique, the new dog's house as it's just been painted with a fresh coat, the fur coats on the back of the kitchen door as they've just been treated…" he pauses in thought for a moment, "-or the walls in the living room."

"Got it!" Seb says with confidence.

Arnold then turns to the door again, and turns to us once more… "In fact it's probably best if you-"

"-Don't touch anything?" Anna and I both say in unison.

"That could work!" Arnold says, finally throwing his door open, where it becomes immediately apparent as to why there are such strict rules.

* * *

Step into the lighthouse for the first time and you'd think you'd stepped into the wrong building. The soft looking white carpet welcomes all but mud as it looks as though it has just been cleaned for hours; there's no sign of any wear or dirt on it whatsoever. Warm, wooden walls and a roaring log fire flanks beautiful red furniture and a small but tidy kitchen with a large stove in the middle with what smells like a turkey roasting with vegetables in a pan at boil on the hob. The scrumptious scent of the turkey reminds me that my stomach is practically empty, though I didn't want to say anything in front of Anna because knowing her she'll go without for me.

It's a lighthouse that has been converted into a very cosy house for who is clearly a very hardworking man. Bertha, whom I assume is his wife, is busy at work on the dinner rushing around, darting between cupboards and drawers pulling out various equipment and food to prepare.

"Honey that smells delicious!" Says Arnold.

"It's your favourite!" Bertha chimes before turning to us panicking "Oh- my goodness! You did come!- not that we expected you to come your majesties- not that we wouldn't welcome you; you're all welcome here!- I mean if you're not staying then of course you can leave when you'd like- not that I want to get rid of you-"

"Bertha!" Arnold says, "They're staying for dinner, relax!"

"Only if that's okay?" Anna says.

"If we're not intruding?" I ask to be sure.

"Of course you can! It's an honour to have you for dinner at our house! Heck I might put up posters saying 'royals were here'!"

We three exchange an awkward look; that really wouldn't help our case.

"Please have a seat!" Bertha says pulling up two chairs for us.

Sebastian takes of our coats and scarves and drapes them over a rail near the fireplace to dry. We also slip our boots off, remembering Arnold's instructions and head towards the front room

Anna and I both take a seat in the regal red cushioned chairs which both have large, soft pillows on either side, flanking us with paralleled comfort. Taking our weight off our feet, we both sigh with relief as Arnold clunks down two tankers of steaming cocoa in front of us.

"Thank you!" We both say as we take the cups and start sipping away.

The chocolate flavour instantly takes over us both and we slump even further into the chair in ecstasy… I can trace the drink as it flows down into my belly, warming me up from the inside. One of the small luxuries that I miss from being back home, one that Anna and I always used to share with each other.

"Oh that's heaven…" Anna says quietly as she too succumbs to the sweet fragrances and flavours from the concoction of sweet cocoa and milk that is generously recharging our energy. I think back to all the times I would hear through my closed bedroom door the sounds of Anna and my parents at the dining table enjoying fresh batches of Gerda's homemade cocoa. Gerda would often bring some up to me aswell but I would have given anything to enjoy those moments together as a family. The one good thing I can pick out of this trip so far is that I really have been able to spend some quality time with my sister. I've also been able to become closer to Sebastian recently and that in its own way is an adventure for me. I'm pretty sure I am developing... feelings for him, though I'm not sure what to do with them. My absolute priority this time is my sister's wellbeing no matter what, but look how well that turned out last time.

"Queen Elsa?" I hear Arnold's voice, "Are you still with us your majesty?"

Again, my imaginative mind taking me away from what's going on around me, "Oh!- Sorry, I got lost in the hot chocolate!" I lied. "What were we talking about?"

"Princess Anna was just telling us about how you plan on dropping in to say hi to your cousin in Corona."

"Yeah!" Anna said, "It's been so long! We only recently found letters that had been sent to us from them over the last few years. It's going to be so strange to see them, and the first time we'll meet Eugene in person as well!"

"Aren't you just a little bit nervous though?" I can't help but ask, "I mean we have never met them before properly!"

"I… I guess I am a little, but I am still very excited at the same time!"

"Yeah… I'm sure it'll be fine!"

"Well we have to cross that ocean first…" Anna said with a sulk.

"What's wrong with it your majesty?" Arnold asks, "It's only a short hop and it isn't stormy season!"

"That's the route that took down our parents' ship down." I say. I'm not overly fond of that route either.

"Well like I said," Seb begins, "I will commandeer the ship the whole way there and it will be but a short skip over the sea!"

"Thank you Seb, it really means a lot." I say to him, gently paming his hand with mine.

"Uh-oh." Seb says from the kitchen, studying a piece of paper.

"What's uh-oh?" Anna asks worried.

"The team leader called in sick this morning so the loading up of the Athena has only just started. Won't be done until tomorrow."

"Wait- what!?" I say. Anna gives me a strange look for some reason…

"So we won't be able to leave until tomorrow?" Anna says looking worryingly.

"Doesn't look like it." Seb says.

"Guys?!" Anna says angrily, "Where is the sense of urgency? Kristoff is in serious trouble in case we have forgotten?"

"Anna, there's nothing we can do about it." I say trying to calm her, "We'll just have to find a place to stay until the morning."

"You're both more than welcome to sleep here!" Arnold says, "The young ones are staying at a friends tonight so both of their rooms are free-"

"We'll all stay in the same one." Anna interrupts. "If- if that's okay?"

"It's not a problem at all!" Arnold says.

The fact that Anna wants us all to stay in the same room tells Mel that she still doesn't feel too safe without either me or Sebastian. Still, couldn't hurt for us all to stay close to each other for the time being. I treasure every moment I can spend with her; I still don't have any idea how this journey will end for me.

"Well, supper is served!" Bertha says carrying in a steaming hot, golden and brown roasted turkey that looks cooked to perfection. "Now, you guys dig in while I go and prepare the room for you!" she says setting down the turkey on the table in between the four of us. "You can have Miles' room, it's the biggest one!" And with that, she takes off up the stairs.

"Well guys, let's dig in!" Seb says as he picks up a fork ready to eat. Before he gets anywhere however, Arnold clears his throat in a way that tells us he wants to speak first.

"I don't know what you guys are like back home but here we pray before we eat." he says holding his hands up to his sides.

We were not religious, but I am always open to hear other's beliefs and faiths. I love seeing people so passionate about religion!

Seb takes ahold of Arnold's hand in his right and gently takes mine in his left. His hands surprise me at how warm they are. Then again, mine are always freezing so I guess it's a nice compromise. I also take Anna's in my left, and she links back to Arnold in her left.

"For the food we are about to receive," Arnold begins as we all duck our heads, "May the Lord accept our thanks. May the lord also watch over our friends on their journey, and guide them through any obstacles that they may encounter. Amen."

"Amen." We all repeat.

"Thank you Arnold," Anna say, "That was beautiful!"

"My pleasure your highness! he says back, "Now lets eat! I'm sure you guys are starving!" He's not wrong.

We start to plate up our meals. Arnold begins Carving the turkey while we all put potatoes and vegetables on our plates. There are also glasses of water that we all sip at while slices of turkey are placed on our plates. The warm, succulent flavours from both the tender meat and gravy escape into the air and tease my rumbling stomach.

"Mmm… Arnold that smells amazing!" I say.

"Thank you! Well, I can't accept credit. Bertha makes an amazing roast!"

"Speaking of Bertha," Anna asks, "Where is she? Won't her food be getting cold?"

"No it's fine, she can bring it to boil to warm it up again!" Arnold says, "She wants to make sure that everyone is happy with the rooms!"

"You really are too kind Arnold." I say with genuity, lapping up the breast of Turkey in some of the most amazing gravy I have ever tasted As royals I am most aware of the expected etiquette that we are expected to uphold when in public, however as we are technically incognito, we let that slide here.

"Honestly, the pleasure is all mine your majesty." Arnold says.

We continue to demolish the food that was so preciously sat in front of us and discuss what has happened since we departed from home. Kristoff, the Oaken's Inn, the men that ambushed us at the village and the forest path. Arnold tells us about how Miles wants to become a guard for Arendelle after he leaves his studies. I assured him that I would ensure that he receives the "best reference possible from the Arendelle Royal Family". By that I mean that Seb will definitely hire him and take him under his wing… A look and a wink from Seb confirms this.

My mind does wander to Kristoff. There's no one in this world that I trust with my sister more than him, yet he is the one in peril at this moment. I really hope he is okay; after everything that has happened to her Anna finally has the life she deserves, only for it to be torn apart by this new enemy. This Lord Cyril's intentions are a mystery to me, I just hope that when we arrive to this High Isles place that I am able to fix this.

"So," Arnold begins to Seb "Captain of the guard?"

"That's right!" Seb replies, "I climbed through the ranks since I left the orphanage there and had my final exams nine months ago."

"Which he absolutely nailed!" I say for him. It's true, I saw his score when I looked through the royal staff minutes; he'd gotten the highest score a guard captain applicant had received in over twenty years!

"Well I'm not surprised!" Arnold says, "I remember when I last heard from you, you were thinking about shooting for Commander, but you went all the way!"

"Well during my training to become Commander, King Agnarr noticed I was exceeding expectations so he had me placed on the Captain's course. My friend and fellow guard Gregor helped me train throughout the tasks I had to complete. When I got my Captaincy I surprised him by promoting him to my Senior Officer."

"Wow! That's fantastic!" he says.

"It was a great promotion and he really is shining in his position. Goodness knows how he has managed to hold off sending parties out looking for the Queen and Princess."

"We really must thank him when we get back." Anna says.

"Well…" Sebastian says, "I think that, now we have a bit of time on our hands, we should consider what it will be like when we return."

"What do you mean?" Anna asks, adding some more potatoes to her plate.

"I expect that action will be taken against myself for allowing this to happen under my watch. As the stand-in Captain, he will be forced to build a case against me for allowing harm to come to you both, and it will most likely result in my expulsion from the service and exiled from the kingdom."

"Well don't worry," Anna says, "We won't let that happen! Right Elsa?"

"Absolutely!" I agree, "I will make sure that everything is sorted out for you."

"With all due respect your majesty," Seb begins, "you should not have to use your royal power to try and dig me out of trouble."

"Well I'm going to, so deal with it." I say, grinning like a spoilt child.

"Queen Elsa-"

"Just Elsa," I interrupt, "And no, I'm not going to let you talk me out of this one. You've risked so much more than you should have for us. I will not just sit back and watch you have to pay for helping us."

"Amen!" Anna chanted, "And if I had power over Elsa as a royal then I would definitely help out!"

I think he has given up, because instead of arguing his case, he just looks at me and smiles, "Thank you Elsa."

"Don't thank me, you're the one we're indebted to Seb." I say, getting lost in his deep blue eyes for a moment. We seem to have these moments fairly frequently nowadays.

Just as we finish our last mouthful, Bertha comes running down the stairs, "Okay! The room is all ready for you, your majesties and Captain."

"Thank you so much, we really can't thank you enough." I say.

"No thanks are necessary!" she says, "There's hot water as well so you can all bathe before bed!"

"That will definitely be needed for me!" Seb says.

"Us too!" Anna says rubbing her full belly as it tries to process all the food it has just taken on.

"Especially for this smelly one!" I say, giving Anna a playful poke in the side.

"Hey I don't smell that bad! I have rose scented hair!" She said in defence, giving her hair a boastful and sassy sway, spraying the table with water droplets that smell of strong fish.

"Point made." I say.

"I'll let you girls have first pick at the hot water." Seb said. I am quite happy at his surrender here; I envisioned a brutal battle to decide who had first rights to the water.

"Anna, do you mind if I go first?" I ask with pleading eyes.

"Of course!" she says, "I can help clean up the dishes!" We always had our dishes washed for us back at home but I remember Anna telling me that she'd often help out Kai and Gerda when she was bored around the palace.

"I guess I'll head up now then." I say, I really am looking forward to this bath, I need to wash my hair so badly! "Thank you for the dinner Bertha! It was truly delightful!"

"It was my pleasure my Queen!" She says gleaming, "I'm glad that you enjoyed it!"

I head upstairs to look for the bathroom. The homey feel to the house continues up the stairs and through the halls. Neat wooden planks make up the walls on either side of the walkway and the floor is made out of soft, green carpet. I see a big door that is labelled 'Lighthouse' so I leave that be. A little further I walk and pass another door that was left open. I peek inside to find a snug room with a double bed and another smaller mattress on the floor. I take it that this is going to be our room for the night, and it does look very comfortable. My mission for now though is to find a nice warm bath.

A little further down and I find the bathroom. All gleaming white surfaces with blue tiles for the back wall and a small basin with a cabinet on the wall just above it. Dotted around the room there are small ornaments of white and light blue, with ships and anchors being the reoccurring theme. the bath tub was at the back with the design of the taps and edges giving a Swedish ambiance. I wonder if much of this stuff was imported from the shipyard?

I slide the lock closed and start running the bath. The tub is a little smaller than the one back in the palace, but only a tiny bit. Luckily Anna and I have always had a slim, small figure, but I imagine that the sheer broadness of Seb's shoulders may cause him some discomfort. The image of him struggling a little in this tub does make me giggle a little bit.

I get drawn back into reality via the citrus-scented bath solution that I am using; strong green apple and a mix of zingy lemon calms my body already, and reminds me just how fatigued I actually am! The journey so far has definitely taken it's toll on Anna and I. Seb has had extensive training in this sort of field and therefor is more than capable to handle these conditions and activities we will most likely undertake, but we girls are just going to have to muscle through it. Anna's strength is her passion and her will to get moving and get things done for people, whereas mine I feel is more based on my power as an Ice Queen. Every moment I have to resort to using my power just reminds me once more about how I almost killed my own sister, so I limit it as much as I can.

That being said, I am starting to get the hang of suppressing my abilities. Even now, while I remember the awful past we've had, I am controlling my power. I _feel _as though I am in control. For once I am actually in charge of my curse that as been controlling me all my life. For now I'll keep this to myself however, it seems the best option and I don't want to get too confident with it just yet.

* * *

**A year...**

**So in case you didn't realise this chapter took a year to upload...**

**Again, I am so sorry this has taken so darn long, but I'm gonna pull my finger out, and start dedicating time to getting my motivation up ready for the next half of this story.**

**Thank you all for being so patient with me so far, if you did enjoy this chapter please leave me a review and let me know what you think, and any improvements you think I should have done...**

**Until next time...**

**Which will not be another year.**


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